A senior official from the Georgian Ministry of Defense said Georgia had “decided to restore constitutional order in the entire region” of South Ossetia.

Mamuka Kurashvili, an MoD official in charge of overseeing peacekeeping operations, told journalists late on August 7 that the South Ossetian side had rejected Tbilisi’s earlier decision to unilaterally cease fire and had resumed shelling of Georgian villages in the conflict zone.

“So the Georgian side has decided to restore constitutional order in the entire region,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Russian command of the peacekeeping forces in the region said late on August 7 that Tskhinvali was under “massive shelling.”

“The shelling includes the use of GRAD-type multiple rocket launchers,” Vladimir Ivanov, an aide to the commander of the Russian peacekeeping forces, told Interfax.

“Ossetian forces are firing in response with all types of weapons, including artillery and grenade launchers,” he added.