| Occupation of Poti | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Russo-Georgian War | |||||||||
  Poti Occupation of Poti (Georgia) | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Russia |  Georgia | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| None | 6 naval vessels sunk 5 Humvees captured 21 soldiers captured | ||||||||
The Occupation of Poti was a series of Russian strikes against the Georgian port of Poti during the Russo-Georgian War in August 2008. The city was later occupied by Russian troops, who remained for some time before eventually withdrawing.
Poti is the crucial seaport of Georgia on the Black Sea and serves as an essential entrance for Transcaucasia and the landlocked Central Asia. [1]
Russian aircraft attacked the town of Poti on 8 August, causing a two-day shutdown of the seaport. [1] The Russian air force bombed the port on 9 August. [2] [3] According to reports, cisterns and the construction factory of ships in Poti were attacked by 8-11 Russian planes. [4] Russian planes then attacked the Senaki military base, [4] where Georgian reservists were present and the hotel in Senaki. [5] Azerbaijan stopped oil deliveries to Georgian ports. [6]
On the evening of 9 August, the Georgian mayor of Poti reported that Russian warplanes were approaching Poti from the Sea at around 20:00, but the Georgian ships opened fire and Russian planes were unable to drop bombs on the town. [7]
Russia positioned ships in the vicinity of Poti and other Georgian ports on 10 August 2008. [8] Georgian officials reported that oil tanker and Ukrainian ship were not allowed to enter Poti due to Russian blockade. Deputy chief of the General Staff of Russia, Anatoliy Nogovitsyn and Russian deputy foreign minister Grigory Karasin denied that a naval blockade was taking place. [9] EurasiaNet journalist witnessed that Georgian police was not allowing cars into Poti. [10]
The next day, Georgian and Russian representatives said that Russian troops were in Poti. However, Russia claimed it had only sent a task force for surveying the area. [11] Russian troops advanced into western Georgia on 11 August and occupied the towns of Zugdidi and Senaki. Russia now controlled the key highway connecting the west of Georgia with the eastern part of the country. Russian troops were also witnessed in the town of Supsa. [12] It was reported that cluster bombs were used in Poti by Russia. [12] Russian authorities said that "peacekeepers" were deployed to the Senaki military base, built in 2006 near Abkhazia, to prevent renewed Georgian offensive in South Ossetia. Later, Russian forces reportedly left the Senaki base. [13]
On early 12 August, Russian president announced he would cease Russian military campaign. In an hour after this announcement, Poti was apparently bombed. Russian forces marched in Poti and took up positions around it. A bridge on the Poti-Batumi road was patrolled by Russian paratroopers and armored vehicles. [14]
On 13 August, Al Jazeera correspondent in Poti reported "more and more Russian troops coming into the area all day" and the destruction of several Georgian boats. [15] [16]
On 14 August, witnesses in Poti reported that Russian tanks had arrived in the town at about 09:00 GMT and were marauding or destroying infrastructure. Some troops were reportedly part of the peacekeeping contingent. Deputy chief of the Russian General staff, Anatoliy Nogovitsyn, denied the Russian presence in Poti. [17] The Georgian Interior Ministry said that Russia used Iskander short-range missiles to attack Poti and Gori. Georgian coast guard reported that Russian military reappeared in Poti to target guard's equipment, including radar. An Associated Press Television News team witnessed Russian forces looking for Georgian military hardware near Poti. Regarding Poti, Nogovitsyn only said that Russian troops were acting within their "area of responsibility." [18] Russian military used the Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze road to transport the looted goods from Poti and Senaki bases towards Abkhazia through the Russian-occupied Georgian town of Zugdidi, from which most population had fled. Georgian refugees from the Kodori Valley in Abkhazia were arriving in Zugdidi. [5] On 15 August, 16 seized Georgian boats were taken out of Poti. [19]
By 18 August, Russian forces controlled the crossroad of Poti, Senaki and Khobi along with the major part of the region of Samegrelo and had violated every agreement with the Georgian authorities. [5]
One day after Russia's declaration of the beginning of the withdrawal from Georgia, 70 Russian soldiers moved into the seaport on the morning of 19 August. [1] Russian soldiers took twenty-one Georgian troops prisoner and grabbed five US Humvees in Poti, taking them to a Russian-occupied military base in Senaki. The Humvees were then taken to Abkhazia. Russian artillery had been positioned along key roads between Poti and Abkhazia. Although Russian military asserted that armed Georgian soldiers were driving the Humvees in Poti before being arrested at a Russian inspection station, Georgia stated that Georgian servicemen were protecting the port from plunder, and that American Humvees were being prepared to be sent back to the United States following a military training. [20] The captured Georgians served in the coast guard of Georgia. According to Georgian officials, the ceasefire agreement allowed the Georgian servicemen to be present in Poti, where they had taken up deserted positions on late 18 August. Poti authorities arrived in Senaki to persuade the Russian military to let the captured servicemen go. [1] The port was closed on 19 August. The Wall Street Journal said that Russian actions in Poti constituted an additional attack on Georgian economy. The WSJ noted that Russian takeover of the Georgian city of Gori had blockaded the major east-west route and therefore the logistics transportation into the Georgian ports. [1] An Azerbaijani news source quoted a Poti port official as saying, "All workers were expelled from the port". [21] The New York Times reported that seven civilians had died in Poti from Russian bombing about a week ago. [20] The White House demanded the return of captured US vehicles from Russia. [22]
On 20 August, a claim was made by an official from the Poti port that the Russian military had withdrawn after destroying a vessel and capturing military hardware. [23]
By 21 August, Russian troops were occupying a third of Georgia's territory. Georgian Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili reported that Russian troops were reinforcing their positions in Poti. [24]
By 23 August, Russia claimed that it had completed military withdrawal; however, two Russian stations remained near Poti. Russian military was pulling out from Zugdidi to Abkhazia. After looting the Senaki military base for more than a week, Russian troops finally withdrew from the base. Local inhabitants reported the stealing of home appliances and toilets by Russian soldiers. [25] On 23 August, General Anatoly Nogovitsyn insisted that Russian patrols were allowed by the ceasefire agreement and conceded that although Poti was not included in the security zone, "but that does not mean we will sit behind a fence watching them riding around in Hummers." [26] Georgian residents of Poti protested against Russian checkpoint. [27] The Russian military occupation of the area of Poti made the West anxious. [28]
On 24 August, with Russian troops still within the port of Poti, a US warship with humanitarian assistance docked in Batumi, [29] 80 km (50 mi) south of Poti, [30] and two more warships were expected to arrive. The destroyer USS McFaul did not fit into the port of Batumi. The BBC reported that "the arrival of US naval personnel is undoubtedly intended to send a signal to the Russians". [29] Russian military was plundering and damaging properties during their presence in Poti, even ransacking toilets. [31] [32]
Although the US Embassy in Tbilisi had promised that a United States Coast Guard Cutter, the Dallas, would arrive in Russian-controlled Poti on 27 August, the Dallas instead brought 34 tons of humanitarian assistance to Batumi. Georgian military alleged that Russians could have planted mines in Poti. Russian authorities declared on 27 August that Russian troops had left Poti and were manning checkpoints outside Poti. Russian warships were present in the sea near Poti. [33] [34]
On 13 September, all posts near Poti were abandoned by 11:00 Moscow Time. [35]
The UNOSAT carried out the preliminary analysis of satellite pictures of Poti taken on 25 August 2008. Six sunk Georgian vessels were discovered, while no other damage was visible in the city. [36] [37]
General Anatoliy Nogovitsyn declared on 25 August 2008 that Russia would not return the "trophy" Hummers to the United States. Russian media reported that the Hummers had special communications systems and the satellite equipment. Russian military believed that the captured Hummers were a separate reconnaissance and information center with a command and control vehicle. [38]
On 26 September 2008, one Russian officer said that a special unit of the marines of the Black Sea Fleet planted explosives on all Georgian military boats and ships in Poti on 12 August 2008. [39] [40]
Poti is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near the site of the ancient Greek colony of Phasis and deriving its name from the same, the city has become a major port city and industrial center since the early 20th century. It is also home to a main naval base and the headquarters of the Georgian Navy.
South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated population of just over 56,500 people (2022), who live in an area of 3,900 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), with 33,000 living in the capital city, Tskhinvali.
The Georgian Civil War lasted from 1991 to 1993 in the South Caucasian country of Georgia. It consisted of inter-ethnic and international conflicts in the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as well as the violent military coup d'état against the first democratically-elected President of Georgia, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, and his subsequent uprising in an attempt to regain power.
Senaki is a city in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, western Georgia. It is located at around 42°16′8″N42°4′45″E between the rivers Tekhura/i and Tsivi, at an elevation of 28–38 meters above sea level. Senaki is the center of the Senaki Municipality and serves as a residence of Metropolitans of Senaki and Ckhorotskhu Eparchy of the Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church.
The Georgian Coast Guard is the maritime arm of the Georgian Border Police, within the Ministry for Internal Affairs. It is responsible for the maritime protection of the entire 310 km (190 mi) coastline of Georgia, as well as the Georgian territorial waters. The primary missions of the service are administration of the territorial waters, marine pollution protection, maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, port security and maritime defense. The former Georgian Navy was absorbed into the Coast Guard in 2009.
An international diplomatic crisis between Georgia and Russia began in 2008, when Russia announced that it would no longer participate in the Commonwealth of Independent States economic sanctions imposed on Abkhazia in 1996 and established direct relations with the separatist authorities in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The crisis was linked to the push for Georgia to receive a NATO Membership Action Plan and, indirectly, the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo.
The 2008 Russo-Georgian War was a war between Russia, alongside the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and Georgia. The war took place in August following a diplomatic crisis between Russia and Georgia, both formerly constituent republics of the Soviet Union. The fighting took place in the strategically important South Caucasus region. It is regarded as the first European war of the 21st century.
The Battle of the Kodori Valley was a military operation during the Russo-Georgian War in the Upper Kodori Valley of Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia. It was the only part of Abkhazia under Georgian control before this military conflict. On 9 August 2008, the Abkhaz military, with support by Russian forces, launched an operation to remove the remaining Georgian troops from the disputed gorge. After three days, the Georgian military left the Upper Kodori Valley.
The Russo-Georgian War broke out in August 2008 and involved Georgia, Russian Federation, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
During the Russo-Georgian War, the city of Gori in Georgia was militarily occupied by Russia for a period of nine days, beginning on 13 August 2008. Although it ultimately withdrew from Gori on 22 August, the Russian military has been occupying other parts of Georgia for almost two decades.
Georgian Railway LLC is the national railway company of Georgia.
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Ganarjiis Mukhuri is a village in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region of western Georgia, in the Zugdidi municipality. It is situated at the border with Abkhazia and the city of Zugdidi. The village area is located by the Black Sea and on the right bank of the Enguri River, with the village center six kilometers from the sea. Within the administrative division of the municipality, Ganmukhuri is not part of a community, but is an so called independent village.
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The Battle of Poti was a series of engagements around Poti, Georgia during the Georgian Civil War, between rebels supporting the ousted Georgian president Zviad Gamsakhurdia, the so-called 'Zviadists', and Russian forces supporting the Georgian Head of State Eduard Shevardnadze. A group of Russian Marines of the Black Sea Fleet landed in the Georgian port city in late October 1993 to protect an important railway between Poti and the Georgian capital Tbilisi. In November clashes between the Russians and the Zviadists erupted, with the Russian Major General Boris Djukov, claiming no Russian casualties. The fighting ended when the Georgian Armed Forces broke through the rebels' defenses and entered their capital Zugdidi on the 6th of November.