Instead, there were indications that Russia was adding ground troops and equipment to its force in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, strengthening its hold over the breakaway Georgian regions, the officials said.

"We are seeing evidence of SS-21 missiles in South Ossetia," a US defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The SS-21's 70 to 120 kilometer range (43 to 75 miles) should put them within striking distance of Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, officials said.

Later Monday, another US defense official said, "While we are still monitoring the situation and it is probably a little early, we have not seen any significant Russian movement out of Georgia today."

The White House would not comment on the status of the Russian forces in the Caucasus country Monday.

"But let me be clear: If it rolled in after August 6th, it needs to roll out," said White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

"That would be in keeping with the Russian commitment on withdrawal," he said, as US President George W. Bush spent time on his Texas ranch.

Without confirming that a Russian buildup was underway in the enclaves, a Pentagon spokesman said: "Anything such as that or any other military equipment that was moved in would be in violation of the ceasefire and should be removed immediately."

"The only forces that are permitted to remain under the ceasefire agreement are the forces that were in there at the August 6th timeframe" before the conflict erupted, said spokesman Bryan Whitman.

In Moscow, a Russian general denied that SS-21s had been deployed in South Ossetia.

"There was no need for it," General Anatoly Nogovitsyn said at a briefing for journalists.

But the US defense official said several SS-21 launchers and associated equipment entered the enclave after the fighting came to a halt last week.

The New York Times, which first reported on the move, said they entered South Ossetia on Friday.

"We're seeing them solidify their positions in South Ossetia and Abkhazia," said the official, adding that "more troops and more equipment" were evident in the enclaves.

The official said at least 10 battalions of Russian troops were in the enclaves and in Georgia, putting the number of Russian troops at close to 15,000.

It was unclear whether the SS-21s which allegedly arrived Friday were the first to enter Georgia.

Deputy National Security Advisor Jim Jeffrey said a week ago that President George W. Bush, in Beijing at the time for the Olympic Games, was immediately notified August 8 "when we received news of the first two SS-21 Russian missile launchers into Georgian territory."

Bush then immediately met with Russian President Vladimir Putin about it at the Great Hall of the People, Jeffrey said.

Russia has launched about two dozen short-range missiles during the course of the conflict, which erupted August 7 with a Georgian military incursion into South Ossetia and escalated with an all-out Russian offensive two days later, a senior US defense official said last week.

The SS-21 is the NATO designation for what the Russians call the "9K79-1 Tochka-U," which Nogovitsyn said was "widely used" by Russian forces.

A tactical ballistic missile, the SS-21 can carry conventional, chemical or tactical nuclear warheads.

US officials have made no suggestion that nuclear armed missiles have been deployed in this conflict.

earlier related report
Russians in no hurry to leave western Georgia
In the west of Georgia, Russian forces seemed in no hurry Monday to begin a withdrawal promised by the Kremlin.

The Senaki military base was still occupied by Russian soldiers as was the base at Teklati, three kilometres (two miles) away.

In the early afternoon, nothing indicated the soldiers were preparing to leave. Trucks and armoured personnel carriers (APCs) left the Teklati base in the direction of the Georgian city of Kutaisi -- the opposite direction from which they are supposed to leave the country.

Senaki lies in the west of Georgia, a short way inland from the Black Sea coast and closer to the Russian-backed separatist region of Abkhazia than South Ossetia, the centre of the current conflict.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev assured his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday that Russian regular forces "will begin withdrawing" from Monday.

Watching the Senaki barracks from afar was Ramaz Aphkhadzi, a lieutenant in the Georgian army, dressed in a dark blue T-shirt and jeans.

"I was in command of a platoon in those very barracks," the 29-year-old said. "We were just one company, 100 men with a mission to hold the base."

When Russian planes started bombing the area, the Georgians fired back, he said, but the attackers overwhelmed them with MI-24 helicopters, a half-dozen T-72 tanks and ground troops.

"Our superiors gave us the order to quit the base. It was the 11th or 12th of August -- I don't remember very well," he said.

He estimated that about 30 Georgian soldiers were killed in Russian bombings around the barracks and that about 500 Russian soldiers were now occupying the base, including 200 paratroopers.

Russian vehicles were "coming and going as usual" at the base, he said. On Monday, at least four helicopters made reconnaissance flights over the Senaki base.

In the late afternoon, about 20 loud explosions rung out from inside the Senaki base. After the explosions, smoke was seen rising from inside the military complex.

Aphkhadzi said he thought the Russians were blowing up ammunition stocks.

Under a blazing sun, two Russian soldiers left the barracks on foot to buy cigarettes from a small shop nearby. When they returned near the guard station, Aphkhadzi followed and chatted with them for a few minutes.

"They know absolutely nothing. They were asking me what is being said on television about the date they will leave," he said.

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