(dpa) - A column of Russian tanks backed up by infantry and artillery rolled into the Georgian town of Gori on Monday, signalling a decisive shift by the Kremlin from containment to an all-out offensive.
Georgian troops were seen evacuating positions around the town, the largest metropolis between South Ossetia where the five-day-old war began, and the Georgian capital Tbilisi.
Eyewitnesses described Georgian troops as dispirited and nervous as they left the region ahead of the Russian advance.
The offensive seemingly cancelled a Russian commitment made earlier in the day that the Kremlin has no intention of widening the Ossetia conflict.