Although Russian President Dimitri Medvedev announced Tuesday that he had ordered his troops to ceasefire, he did not withdraw the soldiers from Georgia.
By late afternoon, Russian troops were still authorized to fire at Georgian soldiers in the contested separatist region of South Ossetia, despite Medvedev’s earlier statement.
Meanwhile, Israel continued with plans to rescue Israeli nationals from the war-torn region. Three El Al flights and one Georgia Airlines plane were set to evacuate approximately 230 Israelis from the area by the end of the day.