The Messenger #150 (1417) - Russian missile hits Georgian village, Tbilisi says

Wednesday, August 8, 2007, #150 (1417)

Russian missile hits Georgian village, Tbilisi says

By Eter Tsotniashvili and Nino Mumladze

Not our missile, say Russian officials

Russian airplanes launched a missile at a Georgian village on August 6, the Foreign Affairs Ministry claimed. Russian officials denied any involvement in the incident, described by Tbilisi authorities as an "act of aggression."

The missile, which did not explode, caused no casualties. It hit a field near the village of Tsitelubani, close to the South Ossetian conflict zone and about 60 kilometers northwest of Tbilisi. There were homes dozens of meters away, according to government statements.

The alleged air incursion occurred around 19:30, Tbilisi time.

"Our radars show how and from which territory the aircrafts crossed the border. Radars also determined all the coordinates and flight speed. Aircrafts flew from Russia, over Kazbegi district, and flew back in the same direction they came," Minister of Internal Affairs Vano Merabishvili announced.

An Interior Ministry statement said radar records show two Su-type aircraft taking off from a Russian air base in North Ossetia.

Georgian authorities, with OSCE representatives, were quick to the scene, where they found a missile buried five meters in the ground. Television footage showed fragments of the missile bearing Russian inscriptions. Weapons inscribed with Russian print are distributed widely throughout countries of the former Soviet Union.

Aviation experts say it's possible for an air-to-ground missile, particularly one fired from an older aircraft such as a Russian Su-24, to malfunction and fail to detonate.

The Interior Minister did not mince words.

"This incident is an act of aggression…from the territory of a foreign state," said Merabishvili.

Russian officials reject accusations

But Russian authorities flatly dismissed claims that their planes made an incursion into Georgian airspace.

"Russian aircraft did not fly over Georgian territory either Monday evening or Tuesday morning," said Aleksandr Drobyshevky, a Russian Air Force spokesman.

Russian Ambassador to Georgia Vyacheslav Kovalenko was summoned to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, where Georgian officials lodged their protest over the incident.
"I don't know what has happened. Ask those who organized it," Kovalenko told journalists outside the ministry.

"Russian aircraft did not violate Georgia's airspace…By the way, Su-type aircraft are available to the Georgian air force," he added.
The same day, the Foreign Affairs Ministry briefed foreign diplomats on the incident, distributing documents suggesting Russian military involvement. Members of the diplomatic corps said they would wait for a full report before making any comments.

President Mikheil Saakashvili, addressing media from where the missile fell, said that "this provocation" was intended to panic Georgians and influence state policy.

"We are waiting for an official explanation from Russia," he said.

Reports of a second missile

Secessionist authorities in Tskhinvali, meanwhile, claimed that Georgian aircraft had fired a missile at South Ossetian territory under their control that same evening. No injuries or damage were reported.

The de facto authorities' press committee posted a statement on their website saying that in a "well-planned provocation," a Georgian air-to-ground missile attack was carried out in the Leningori district of the breakaway region.

Marat Kulakhmetov, commander of the Russian peacekeepers, confirmed to Rustavi 2 that his forces registered a second missile in the conflict zone.

"There are a lot of questions," Kulakhmetov said. He said that the peacekeeping forces are searching for the missile. "I'm sure we will find it," he added.

'Not the first time'
Speaking at an August 7 briefing, State Minister for Conflict Resolution Davit Bakradze drew parallels between this incident and a rocket attack on Georgian-controlled Upper Kodori Gorge on March 11.
"This is not the first time this has happened. Unfortunately, the March 11 shelling of Upper Abkhazia was not responded to adequately from the international community, which made yesterday's occurrence possible," Bakradze said.

A UNOMIG joint investigation team presented a report on the attack in July. The report suggested the involvement of Russian helicopters, but said there was not enough evidence to draw any firm conclusions.

Russian-Georgian relations, most recently tensed over a failed Joint Control Commission meeting on South Ossetia, are likely to grow worse.

"This was an act of armed aggression against Georgia," Bakardze emphasized.

A look at the planes which could have been involved in the incident:

Su-24 (Fencer)

· All-weather attack aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi Design Bureau, introduced in 1974

· Two-seat, double engine plane, comparable to the American F-111.

· Capable of carrying: one cannon with 500 rounds of ammunition, radio-command or laser-guided missiles, unguided rocket launchers with different types of rockets, conventional bombs, and nuclear weapons.

· Remain in service with Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Syria, Libya.

Su-25 (Frogfoot)

· Developed by Sukhoi Design Bureau, introduced in 1981

· Single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft

· Weapons: cannon with 250 rounds of ammunition, air-to-air missiles for self-defence and a wide variety of general-purpose bombs, cluster bombs, gun pods, rocket pods, laser-guided bombs, and air-to-surface missiles