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Russia ordered a halt on Tuesday to its massive military strike against Georgia, after declaring that "the aggressor has been punished."

But despite Russia's call for an end to military assaults on its neighbour, Georgian officials said the Russian offensive had not stopped.

Officials of the small Caucasus nation claimed Russians were still firing on Georgian troops in the Kodori Gorge area of Abkhazia, one of two breakaway regions friendly to Russia.

An Associated Press reporter saw a 135-vehicle Russian convoy heading towards the area. Abkhazian officials claim their troops are the ones doing the shelling.

Earlier Tuesday, Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev told his country: "The security of our peacekeepers and civilians has been restored. The aggressor has been punished and suffered very significant losses. Its military has been disorganized."

Medvedev also ordered Russia's military in the region to squelch any further Georgian resistance.

"If there are any emerging hotbeds of resistance or any aggressive actions, you should take steps to destroy them," he told his defence minister at a Kremlin meeting.

Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, repeated his government's call that Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili had "better go" as Moscow won't talk with him.

Hours after Medvedev's announcement, however, Georgia claimed that Russian warplanes had continued to carry out air strikes on two villages located outside South Ossetia.

Medvedev told France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, who holds the rotating European Union presidency, that Georgia must pull out of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and pledge not to use force again.

Sarkozy said in Moscow that Georgia's sovereignty, integrity and security must be protected.

Sarkozy headed there to negotiate a truce over the conflict involving Georgia, Russia and two breakaway regions -- South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The United Nations and NATO are also holding meetings over the crisis.

Canada announces aid

Canada announced Tuesday it will send aid to help the people of Georgia get back on their feet.

Up to $1 million is being sent to the conflicted region, including $500,000 through the International Red Cross. The money will go towards providing emergency medical care and providing people with safe water, blankets and clothing.

Charity organizations in Georgia have been trying to help tens of thousands of refugees who fled the fighting. The homeless have taken refuge in schools, makeshift shelters, and even "decrepit" public buildings, said World Vision spokesperson David Womble.

"The last seven days have been absolute chaos here," Womble told Â鶹´«Ã½net in a phone interview from Georgia.

"Right now (World Vision) needs financial resources ... We're buying soaps. We're buying mattresses -- the most basic needs that they have."

Georgia launched military action in South Ossetia on Thursday.

South Ossetia broke with Georgia in 1992 and has run its own affairs ever since. Russia has issued passports to many South Ossetians and appears open to absorbing both that region and Abkhazia.

In response to Georgia's actions, Russia quickly dispatched its military. Russian soldiers and tanks have pushed into Georgian territory as part of its retaliation. Sakaashvili said his country had effectively been cut in half.

'New Cold War'

Mark MacKinnon, a Globe and Mail reporter and author of "The New Cold War," told CTV's Canada AM on Tuesday that an excellent question is why Sakaashvili would launch military action in South Ossetia at this time.

"It should have been predictable to him ... that the Russian response would be overwhelming force," he said.

Sakaashvili heard "a lot of nice words" from Washington and Brussels, where NATO is headquartered, MacKinnon said.

But "there's not very much anyone in the West can or is willing to do to take on the Russian military over a place called South Ossetia," he said.

Although NATO said this past spring that Georgia and Ukraine would become members at some point, MacKinnon said that some European nations are adamant that this can't happen until the issues with Abkhazia and South Ossetia are finally resolved.

"Something like this (the current conflict) could propel the world towards World War Three," he said.

The West should be concerned about developments there because "the world's longest, most expensive pipeline runs right through Georgia," he said.

"Any disruptions to that supply would of course have an effect on already very high prices."

If Russia succeeded in destabilizing Georgia and the pipeline -- which takes oil from the Caspian Sea and Central Asia -- ever shut down, then all energy would have to flow through Russia, MacKinnon said. "It would give them an even tighter control over the energy supply to Europe and the West."

With files from The Associated Press