'Russia's advance into previously uncontested Georgian territory demonstrates that, despite its preoccupation with Ukraine, Moscow remains determined to derail Georgia's pro-Western course. This risks once more upsetting the geopolitical balance in the South Caucasus region.
Late on July 10, after a year of relative calm, Russian forces resumed their "border demarcation" activities along the South Ossetian administrative boundary, installing large signs reading "State border of the Republic of South Ossetia" about 1.5 kilometers deeper into Georgian territory than previously, just two kilometers from Georgia's major East-West Highway.
Not only did this land grab disrupt the lives of villagers, whose households ended up overnight inside Russian-controlled territory, but a kilometer-long section of the BP-operated Baku-Supsa oil pipeline now lies outside of Tbilisi's reach. With Western attention focused elsewhere, Georgia has again been left on its own to grapple with a major challenge'
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