Occupied territories of Georgia
Both Abkhazia and South Ossetia are widely recognized as integral parts of Georgia and together represent 20% of Georgia's internationally recognized territory. The Georgian "Law on Occupied Territories of Georgia", adopted in 2008, criminalizes and prosecutes entry into Abkhazia and South Ossetia from the Russian side. The Georgian law also prohibits any economic and financial activities in the occupied territories. Georgia and several other members of the international community including the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, the European Union, OSCE, and Council of Europe have recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as occupied territories and have condemned the Russian military presence and actions there.
Timeline of the Russo-Georgian War
"The Guardian" described the Russian invasion as "punitive campaign" aiming to impose "humiliating truce terms" on Georgia. Local journalist from Gori had reported that "Russian troops had occupied the main road on the edge of the city, but had not moved towards the centre". Georgian president stated that Russians had split Georgia into two by occupying an important crossroad near Gori. Georgian president told CNN, "The bombs that are falling on us, they have an inscription on them: This is for NATO. This is for the U.S." Georgia had retracted initial reports of Russian takeover of Gori. Georgian president accused Russia of ethnic cleansing of Georgians. BBC reported on 12 August that "Russia's control over many key bridges and roads across Georgia has left Tbilisi isolated from much of the country, causing visible panic."