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At the port of Poti, where the Russians anticpated the arrival of US warships, a group of armored personnel carriers (APCs) and four tanks blocked the bridge into Poti, and Russian forces excavated trenches and set up mortars facing the city. Another group of APCs and trucks were positioned in a nearby wooded area. Georgian civilians from Poti protested at the roadblock. This occurred as elsewhere in Georgia the Russians had alreaddy compelted their general withdrawal and many of their tanks and personnel were exiting the Province of South Ossetia and entering Russia proper.

Meanwhile, 80 kilometers (55 miles) south of the port of Poti, at the Georgian port of Batumi, the US simply avoided the confrontation when the first U.S. warship, the guided missle and AEGIS detroyer, USS McFaul docked there instead to bring aid to Georgia on Sunday, August 24, 2008. The arrival is a strong gesture of support for the ex-Soviet republic in its conflict with Russia.

The USS McFaul is loaded with humanitarian aid including beds and food for the tens of thousands displaced by the confrontation that erupted on Aug 7-8 over Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia region.

Two more US warships, and three NATO warships are also en route to deliver significant humanitarian aid and will arrive within the next day or two, presumably also at Batumi. With six warships in the area, two of them AEGIS warships, and one o fthe others, the USS Mt. Whitney being the flagship of the US 6th fleet, the US Navy and NATO are making a significant commitment and sending a strong message of support to Georgia and a strong message of resolve to Moscow.