Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused Georgia of genocide against the South Ossetian people, as fighting in the breakaway region intensified.
He said Georgia was seeking "bloody adventures" and defended Moscow's military action to intervene directly.
Diplomatic efforts are being stepped up to try to halt what Tbilisi has called an "annihilation" of its democracy.
Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili earlier called for an immediate ceasefire to stop "this madness".
In the absence of independent verification, there are conflicting figures about the casualties suffered on both sides but the numbers appeared to rise sharply on Saturday. Several hurt in new Georgia clash ...
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Based on Russian and South Ossetian estimates, the death toll on the South Ossetian side was at least 1,400. According to Moscow, all but a few of the dead were civilians.
Georgian casualty figures sustained during the three days of fighting ranged from 82 dead, including 37 civilians, to a figure of around 130 dead.
'A fatal blow'
Mr Putin flew to the Russian city of Vladikavkaz, close to the border with South Ossetia, where he met those who had fled the violence.
Mr Putin said Georgia was committing "complete genocide".
He said the territorial integrity of Georgia had "suffered a fatal blow", suggesting that it was unlikely that South Ossetia would re-integrate with the rest of Georgia after the conflict.
He said the conflict had created at least 34,000 refugees.
This figure wildly conflicts with that cited by the UN refugee agency, which it says is based on information supplied by both sides.
The UN estimates that about 2,400 people have fled South Ossetia to other parts of Georgia while between 4,000 and 5,000 have crossed the border into Russia.
Redrawing the map
As the bloodshed continues, a joint delegation of the US, EU and the Organisation of Security and Co-operation in Europe is heading to Georgia in the hope of brokering a truce.
It comes as a third emergency session of the UN Security Council ended without an agreement on the wording of a statement calling for a ceasefire.
But emissaries from the US and Europe who are Nato members may not be seen as honest brokers by the Kremlin when it comes to Georgia, BBC's diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall says.
The danger now is that Russia will not only use this crisis to demonstrate its military power in the region, but argue it is time to redraw the map, she adds.
Moscow has said there can be no "consultations" with Georgia unless Georgian forces withdraw to the positions they held outside South Ossetia before Thursday.
Meanwhile Russian jets have bombed several towns, including the central Georgian city of Gori, where Georgian troops had been massing to support forces engaged in South Ossetia.
Georgian TV has also shown pictures of damage to the Black Sea port of Poti, the site of a major oil shipment facility, after a reported Russian air strike.
President Saakashvili told the BBC on Saturday that Moscow wanted to take control of energy routes to Europe and accused it of "war crimes" against civilians.
His parliament has approved a presidential decree declaring that the country is in a state of war for 15 days.
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(BBC)
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