(Releads with army, adds quotes, colour) By Oleg Shchedrov VLADIKAVKAZ, Russia, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Russia's army has recovered from a post-Soviet crisis and is ready for any peacekeeping operation, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday, as he warned Georgia it would be punished for its actions in South Ossetia. Medvedev, visiting the base of the army unit he sent into Georgia, handed out medals to about 30 servicemen who had taken part in fighting with Georgia and said procuring better weapons would be a priority for the army. "The armed forces have overcome the crisis of the 1990s and are now fully battle-ready to carry out any peacekeeping operation," he said in the Russian city of Vladikavkaz, near the border with South Ossetia. "There are still problems. One of them is weapons. We've done a lot recently: supply to the armed forces is better, but still not enough." Hundreds of soldiers stood to attention in a large square in Vladikavkaz as Medvedev, who last week marked his first 100 days in the Kremlin, greeted them with a loud shout of "Hello comrades!". Flags fluttered in the wind above their heads. "Russia is proud of each one of you," Medvedev, on his first visit to the region since fighting began on Aug. 7-8, told them. "Thank you for your courage, for protecting civilians, for standing in the way of those who brought death to the people of South Ossetia. ... What the Georgian authorities did is beyond human understanding and cannot be forgiven or left unpunished." Russia responded with overwhelming military force -- drawing condemnation from the United States -- after Georgia tried to recapture South Ossetia, a pro-Russian province which broke away from its control in the 1990s. Russia announced on Monday it had started a military pull-back from areas of Georgia under a ceasefire brokered by France. But the two sides continued to trade accusations even after the truce was reached. "There are political freaks who are ready to kill innocent people for their political reasons," Medvedev said in the latest in a series of bitter verbal attacks on Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. Medvedev visited the barracks of the 58th army division in Vladikavkaz, sipping tea in the division's spacious headquarters. He said Georgian forces had been equipped with NATO-supplied waepons. "Only in such a situation can one see what a proper weapon is, and what yesterday's weapon is. ...Our armed forces should have weapons that are just as good to carry out their tasks." (Writing by Robin Paxton and Maria Golovnina; Editing by Robert Hart)
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (L) awards a medal to a soldier who saw action in the conflict in South Ossetia during a ceremony in the southern Russian city of Vladikavkaz August ...
