TBILISI - Georgian officials charged that dozens of Russian tanks had rolled into a strategic city and seized a military base inside Georgia, violating an EU-brokered truce designed to end a six-day conflict that has battered a US ally and uprooted an estimated 100000 people.

Russia immediately denied the report of tanks, but admitted that some Russian soldiers went into the Georgian city of Gori yesterday.

The accusation came less than 12 hours after Georgia's president said he had accepted a cease-fire plan brokered by France.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia was halting military action because Georgia had paid enough for its attack on South Ossetia last Thursday.

The EU peace plan's concept of having both sides retreat to their original positions was running into the stark reality of Russian dominance on the battlefield.

In addition to Russian forces entering Gori, Georgia also lost its last stronghold in another separatist province, Abkhazia. - Sapa-AP