Russian military advances into Georgia in defiance of EU peace deal

Russia is using the time tested "fog of war" to advance it's interests despite it's violations of the cease fire. Russia has been notorious in it's decentralized command structure in it's military. While technically, civilians are in command, the central command and field commanders appear to retain considerable discretion to consolidate it's position and objectives. Sometimes it's appeared as if there was a command structure that functioned as a committee, with language interpreted differently at the various levels.
Clearly, Russia's most recent actions imply it's primary objective is to destroy the fighting capability of the Georgian army. It's truly unfortunate that they have apparently allowed the irregular troops from the break away provinces to loot and pillage. There are even allegations that Russian troops have participated. It would appear that it is part of the intention of the invading forces to terrorize the population as well.
It has become apparent to me that atrocity and excess has always been a part of war. There is no such thing as a gentleman's army. Asking people to do outrageous things within "rules of engagement" is like taming tigers in a circus. Inevitably, there will be violations. War is a violation of civil behavior, period. It should almost never be an option on the table.
Telegraph

A column of 70 Russian military vehicles, including military trucks with anti-aircraft guns and artillery, as well as armoured personnel carriers, pursued by a large contingent of the world's media, left Gori on the road to Tbilisi and turned left a few kilometres outside of the frontline Georgian town.
Russian troops claimed they were on a "humanitarian mission", however, the true purpose of the mission remained unclear as reports of burning and looting in villages near Gori by South Ossetian rebels and Russian army personnel emerged.
Earlier, as the EU announced plans to send peacekeeping troops to monitor the ceasefire, Russian troops patrolled Gori, destroying an empty Georgian military base in the frontline Georgian town and setting up a checkpoint on the road to Tbilisi.
Civilians in Gori claimed they had been shot at by Russian soldiers and South Ossetian snipers, who local residents said had been attacking the villages. Georgian troops pulled back from the town of Gori earlier this week.
Georgia has also lost its last stronghold in another separatist province, Abkhazia, overnight as its troops withdrew from the Kodori Gorge.
Russian-backed separatist forces took advantage of the Georgian military's collapse to attack Kodori. More than 100 Russian military vehicles entered the gorge on Tuesday, forcing the Georgian retreat.
Diplomatic efforts to resolve the six-day crisis remain mired in confusing claim and counter-claim.
Russia continued to press its advantage by demanding a review of the future status of separatist regions in Georgia, even though the issue was cut from a French plan for ending the Russian-Georgian conflict.
"It is not possible to resolve these issues outside the context of the status" of the Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, said earlier.
But today EU foreign ministers agreed to send monitors to supervise the ceasefire, but conceded that any wider European peacekeeping operation would require a resolution from the UN Security Council, on which Russia has veto power.
"We are determined to act on the ground," Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister said after chairing an emergency EU meeting to discuss the crisis. "The European Union cannot be indifferent to this war, these massacres on our doorstep."
Georgia's foreign minister today appealed for the EU to send a mission, claiming that Russia was violating the cease-fire agreement brokered last night by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country currently holds the EU presidency.
New EU members states from central and eastern Europe, which once felt Moscow's dominance behind the Iron Curtain, have been vocal in their support for Georgia in the face of Russia "aggression".
Viktor Yushchenko, the Ukrainian president, today signed a decree imposing new restrictions on Russia's Black Sea fleet, which is based in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol.
Yesterday, a delegation of leaders from Poland, Ukraine and three Baltic states arrived in Tbilisi as a gesture of solidarity.
In Brussels, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Petras Vaitiekunas said Russia's military response during fighting in the last week had been "unacceptable and unproportional".
"Of course there must be some consequences of aggression," he said.
Older EU nations, particularly Germany, are keen not to demonise Russia and risk vital ties, notably over energy supplies of oil and gas.