Georgia faced the threat of a Russian invasion on two fronts today as the Kremlin continued to ignore international pressure for a ceasefire.

In the west, Russian troops entered Georgia from the breakaway region of Abkhazia on the Black Sea, while in the north, intense shelling continued in and around South Ossetia.

Moscow confirmed that its soldiers had swept from Abkhazia into the town of Senaki, 40 km inside Georgia. The Defence Ministry in Moscow claimed that the raid on Senaki was intended to prevent Georgian troops from regrouping for "new attacks on South Ossetia".

The admission marked a dangerous new phase in the five-day conflict as Russia advanced into Georgian territory with no indication of when its offensive might cease, despite a claim from President Dmitri Medvedev that much of the operation was complete.

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Multimedia

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• Video: on the front line

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President Mikhail Saakashvili told Georgians in a televised address that Russia was attempting to occupy the whole country. He said: "This provocation was aimed at occupying South Ossetia, Abkhazia and then all of Georgia."

He claimed that Russian tanks were rampaging through the countryside while Russian troops were carrying out summary killings and human rights abuses.

The Times witnessed Russian MiG fighter jets bombing Georgian positions about 9 km from the border with South Ossetia, and there were sustained exchanges of artillery fire.

Soldiers on the ground claimed that Russian and South Ossetian forces had established artillery positions inside the border on the Georgian side. Georgian tanks and heavy weaponry ringed the outskirts of the nearby city of Gori in anticipation of a Russian advance.

The prospects for a negotiated ceasefire were dealt a blow when Russia's ambassador to Nato declared that Mr Saakashvili "is no longer a man that we can deal with". Dmitri Rogozin said: "He must be punished for breaching international law. He is responsible for many war crimes."

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, is preparing to fly to Georgia and Russia tomorrow on a peace mission, following a round of shuttle diplomacy by his foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, who is due in Moscow tonight carrying a draft ceasefire proposal signed by Mr Saakashvili.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian Prime Minister, said that Russia would continue its military operation until “its logical end”.

He hit out at the United States in particular for transporting 800 Georgian soldiers from Iraq, some of whom have been deployed in Gori on the border of South Ossetia.

Russia warned the West that "the Georgian side was preparing aggression," said Mr Putin. "Nobody was listening. And this is the result. We have finally come to it. However, Russia will of course carry out its peacekeeping mission to its logical end."

Russia's incursion into Georgian territory follows a rapid troop build up, as thousands of Russian troops have poured into Georgia's breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Nato's secretary general today criticised Russia over its "disproportionate" use of force. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was "seriously concerned" about Russia's response and its "lack of respect for the territorial integrity of Georgia," a spokesperson said.

The statement followed President Bush's comments in Beijing, where he was watching the Olympics. He said he had spoken "firmly" to Mr Putin, who was directing the Kremlin's actions in Georgia.

Gordon Brown today made his first direct comments on the crisis, saying there was "no justification" for Russia’s military action in Georgia, and that there was a "clear responsibility" on Moscow to agree a ceasefire and bring a swift end to the conflict which threatened a "humanitarian catastrophe".

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