The 2008 Georgian-Russia Conflict in Pictures August 8 – August 19, 2008

Day 1: A column of Russian tanks, supported by fighter jets, pours into South Ossetia, responding to a Georgian assault on separatists in the breakaway enclave’s capital, Tskhinvali

Day 2: Russian jets bomb the cities of Gori and Poti inside Georgia itself and Russian troops advance into another enclave - Abkhazia – in support of separatist fighters there

Day 3: Georgian forces start retreating from Tskhinvali as Russia bombs targets around the capital Tbilisi and moves its Black Sea fleet to impose a blockade of Georgian ports

Day 4: In a swift strike into Georgian territory, Russian forces cut Tbilisi off from its western provinces and push Georgian forces into retreat from the eastern town of Gori

Day 5: Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev says military operations will cease, but some attacks continue against Georgian targets

Day 6: President George W Bush warns that Russia "must keep its word and act to end this crisis", while Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says Moscow “seriously overstretched” itself in Georgia.

Day 7: Poland and America conclude a deal which will see Poland house a US missile defense system. The first shipments of US humanitarian aid arrive in Georgia. A Russian commander in the region says his troops are starting to withdraw.

Day 8: US President George W Bush accused Russia of "bullying and intimidation". The Polish missile deal angers Russia which said the US move "cannot go unpunished". It claims it will be forced to re-direct nuclear missiles on Poland.

Day 9: President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia finally signed a ceasefire deal with Georgia, which called for troops from both sides to pull back to their pre-conflict positions. President Bush called the move a “hopeful step”

Day 10: Russia said it would begin to withdraw its troops on Monday. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France warned that any further delays would "have serious consequences on relations between Russia and the European Union". Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, said that Russia’s reputation was now “in tatters.”

Day 11: Russia said it has begun withdrawing troops from Georgia but warned that any future operations against its citizens there will be met with a "crushing response." The Georgian government accused the Russians of breaking the terms of the ceasefire by maintaining a presence inside Georgian territory

Day 12: Russia and Georgia exchanged 20 prisoners of war in a gesture of goodwill. Major divisions opened up between NATO members as European countries rejected an American proposal to suspend ties with Russia over its actions in Georgia