On Wednesday, Russia’s army continued to remain in Georgia although Kremlin officials claimed they would accelerate the withdrawal process.

Russian troops were operating road checkpoints throughout Georgia's Gori region, allowing civilian traffic to pass after inspection but blocking official Georgian vehicles.

Russian naval infantry held Georgia's Black Sea port of Poti under firm control as well as the key road hub Senaki, 30 kilometres inland.

Russian engineers were continuing dismantlement or destruction of Georgian military infrastructure throughout the Russian area of occupation.

Four loud explosions at Senaki were seemingly the first step of a systematic Russian project to demolish a Georgian air force base there. A Georgian infantry training camp nearby was burning, witnesses said.

Russian naval troops towed a Georgian coast guard cutter and a marine landing ship out to sea and sank both vessels, Georgia's Rustaveli-2 television reported Tuesday.

Western governments have accused Russia of violating the terms of a ceasefire signed last week, stipulating that Moscow remove all its troops from Georgian territory.

A small anti-Russian demonstration by Georgian civilians was held near Russia's Igoeti checkpoint, the point of the closest Russian advance toward the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. Russian soldiers did not intervene.

Russia already has begun thinning out its troops and would accelerate its pullout by Friday, said Anatoliy Nagovitsyn, Russia's assistant chief of staff, according to Russia's Interfax news agency.

An intense Russia-financed reconstruction effort continued apace in South Ossetia Wednesday, Russian official media reported.

Road construction crews in the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, were laying new asphalt at a pace of 4 kilometres a day and construction teams had built a new bus station in the city from the ground up, Russia's Vesti television channel reported.

Moscow's city government would donate road repair and water treatment equipment as well as staples such as flour, rice and barley, altogether worth 1 million dollars, the Interfax news agency said.