2008 South Ossetia war
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The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict
in August 2008 between Georgia
on one side, and Russia
and separatist
governments of South Ossetia
and Abkhazia
on the other.
The 1991–1992 South Ossetia War between ethnic Georgians and Ossetians had left slightly more than a half of South Ossetia under de-facto control of a Russian-backed internationally unrecognised
government. Most ethnic Georgian
parts of South Ossetia remained under the control of Georgia (Akhalgori
district, and most villages surrounding Tskhinvali
), with Georgian, North Ossetian and Russian Joint peacekeeping force present in the territories. A similar situation existed in Abkhazia after the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993)
. Increasing tensions escalated during the summer months of 2008. On 5 August, Russia vowed to defend South Ossetia.
During the night of 7 to 8 August 2008, Georgia launched a large-scale military offensive against South Ossetia, in an attempt to reclaim the territory. Georgia claimed that it was responding to attacks on its peacekeepers and villages in South Ossetia, and that Russia was moving non-peacekeeping units into the country. The Georgian attack caused casualties among Russian peacekeepers, who resisted the assault along with Ossetian militia. Georgia successfully captured most of Tskhinvali within hours. Russia reacted by deploying units of the Russian 58th Army
and Russian Airborne Troops in South Ossetia, and launching airstrikes against Georgian forces in South Ossetia and military and logistical targets in Georgia proper. Russia claimed these actions were a necessary humanitarian intervention
and peace enforcement
.
Russian and Ossetian troops battled Georgian forces throughout South Ossetia for four days, with the heaviest fighting taking place in Tskhinvali
. On August 9, Russian naval forces blockaded a part of the Georgian coast and landed marines on the Abkhaz coast. The Georgian Navy attempted to intervene, but was defeated in a naval skirmish. Russian and Abkhaz forces
opened a second front by attacking the Kodori Gorge
, held by Georgia. Georgian forces put up only minimal resistance, and Russian forces subsequently raided military bases in western Georgia. After five days of heavy fighting in South Ossetia, the Georgian forces retreated, enabling the Russians to enter uncontested Georgia and occupy the cities of Poti
, Gori
, Senaki
, and Zugdidi
.
Through mediation by the French
presidency
of the European Union
, the parties reached a preliminary ceasefire agreement on 12 August, signed by Georgia on 15 August in Tbilisi
and by Russia on 16 August in Moscow
. Several weeks after signing the ceasefire agreement, Russia began pulling most of its troops out of uncontested Georgia. Russia established buffer zones around Abkhazia and South Ossetia and created checkpoints in Georgia's interior. These forces were eventually withdrawn from uncontested Georgia. However some Western officials insist the troops did not return to the line where they were stationed prior to the beginning of hostilities as described in the peace plan. Russian forces remain stationed in Abkhazia and South Ossetia under bilateral agreements with the corresponding governments.
A number of incidents occurred in both conflict zones in the months after the war ended.
Before the break-up of the Soviet Union
, South Ossetia operated as the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast
, an autonomous region within the Georgian SSR. A military conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia broke out in January 1991 when Georgia sent troops to subdue a South Ossetian separatist movement. The separatists were helped by former Soviet military units, who by now had come under Russian command. Estimates of deaths in this fighting exceed 2,000 people. During the war several atrocities occurred on both sides. Approximately 100,000 Ossetians fled Georgia and South Ossetia, while 23,000 Georgians left South Ossetia. The war resulted in South Ossetia, which had a Georgian ethnic minority
of around 29% of the total population of 98,500 in 1989, breaking away from Georgia and gaining de facto
independence. After the Sochi agreement
in 1992, Tskhinvali was isolated from the Georgian territory around it and Russian, Georgian and South Ossetian peacekeepers
were stationed in South Ossetia under the Joint Control Commission's (JCC)
mandate of demilitarisation. The 1992 ceasefire also defined both a zone of conflict around the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali and a security corridor along the border of South Ossetian territories. This situation was mirrored in Abkhazia, an Autonomous Republic within Georgia in the USSR, where the Abkhazian minority seceded from Georgia in a war in the early 1990s
. Similar to South Ossetia, most of Abkhazia was controlled by an unrecognised government, while Georgia controlled other parts. In May 2008, there were about 2,000 Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia, and about 1,000 Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia under the JCC's mandate.
The conflict remained frozen until 2003 when Mikheil Saakashvili
came to power in Georgia's Rose Revolution
, which ousted president Eduard Shevardnadze
. In the years that followed, Saakashvili's government pushed a programme to strengthen failing state institutions, including security and military, created "passably democratic institutions" and implemented what many viewed as a pro-US foreign policy. One of Saakashvili's main goals has been Georgian NATO membership, which Russia opposes. This has been one of the main stumbling blocks in Georgia-Russia relations. In 2007, Georgia spent 6% of GDP on its military and had the highest average growth rate of military spending in the world. In 2008, Georgia's defence budget was $1bn, a third of all government spending. Restoring South Ossetia and Abkhazia to Georgian control has been seen as a top-priority goal of Saakashvili since he came to power. Opposition members have criticised Saakashvili of having authoritarian tendencies. During Saakashvili's rule, human rights organizations such as Freedom House
downgraded Georgia's democracy ranking. The Freedom House ranking moved lower than it was under President Eduard Shevardnadze
.
Emboldened by the success in restoring control in Adjara
in early 2004, the Georgian government launched a push to retake South Ossetia, sending 300 special task-force fighters into the territory. Georgia stated that the operation aimed to combat smuggling, but JCC participants branded the move as a breach of the Sochi agreement
of 1992. Intense fighting took place between Georgian forces and South Ossetian militia between 8 and 19 August 2004. According to researcher Sergei Markedonov
, the brief war in 2004 was a turning point for Russian policy in the region: Russia, which had previously aimed only to preserve the status-quo, now felt that the security of the whole Caucasus depended on the situation in South Ossetia, and took the side of the self-proclaimed republic. In 2006 Georgia sent
police and security forces to the Kodori Gorge in eastern Abkhazia, when a local militia leader there had rebelled against the Georgian authorities. The presence of Georgian forces in the Kodori Gorge continued until the war in 2008.
In the 2006 South Ossetian independence referendum
, 99% of those voting supported full independence. Simultaneously, ethnic Georgians voted just as emphatically to stay with Tbilisi in a referendum among the region's ethnic Georgians. Georgia accused Russia of the annexation
of its internationally recognised territory and of installing a puppet government led by Eduard Kokoity
and by several officials who had previously served in the Russian FSB
and in the Army
. From 2004 to 2008, Georgia has repeatedly proposed broad autonomy for Abkhazia and South Ossetia within the unified Georgian state, but the proposals have been rejected by the secessionist authorities, who demanded full independence for the territory. In 2006, the Georgian government set up what Russians said was a puppet government led by the former South Ossetian prime minister Dmitry Sanakoyev
and granted to it a status of a provisional administration, alarming Tskhinvali and Moscow.
In what Sergei Markedonov has described as the culmination of Georgian "unfreezing" policy, the control of the Georgian peacekeeping battalion was transferred from the joint command of the peacekeeping forces to the Georgian Defence Ministry.
In 1989, Ossetians accounted for around 60 percent, Georgians 20 percent, Armenians 10 percent and Russians 5 percent of the population of South Ossetia. about 87.5% of the population of South Ossetia have acquired Russian citizenship, as a result of being Soviet Citizens (Russia extended citizenship to most USSR citizens, as it is internationally recognised as a successor state to the USSR). Additionally, 71% of all Ossetians were living in Russia, most of them just across the Roki Tunnel
in North Ossetia, and had family members in South Ossetia. From the viewpoint of Russian constitutional law
, the legal position of Russian passport holders in South Ossetia is the same as that of Russian citizens living in Russia. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stated that he would "protect the life and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are". According to an EU report, this position is inconsistent with international law, which considers the vast majority of purportedly naturalised persons as not Russian citizens. According to Reuters
, prior to the war Russia was supplying two thirds of South Ossetia's annual budget, and Russia's state-controlled gas giant Gazprom
was building new gas pipelines and infrastructure worth hundreds of millions of dollars to supply South Ossetian cities with energy. Moreover, Russian officials already had de facto control over South Ossetia's institutions, including security institutions and security forces, and South Ossetia's de facto government was largely staffed with Russian representatives and South Ossetians with Russian passports who had previously worked in equivalent government positions in Russia. In mid-April, 2008, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Russian PM
Vladimir Putin
had given instructions to the federal government whereby Russia would pursue economic, diplomatic, and administrative relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia as with the subjects of Russia
. When President Saakashvili was re-elected in early 2008, he promised to bring the breakaway regions back under Georgian control.
Georgia maintained a close relationship with the G.W. Bush administration of the United States of America. In 2002, the USA started the Georgia Train and Equip Program
me to arm and train the Georgian military, and, in 2005, a Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program
me to broaden capabilities of the Georgian armed forces. These programmes involved training by the United States Army Special Forces
, United States Marine Corps
, and military advisors personnel.
Although Georgia has no significant oil or gas reserves of its own, its territory hosts part of the important Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline transit route that supplies western and central Europe. The pipeline, supplied by oil from Azerbaijan's Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli
oil field
transports 1 Moilbbl of oil per day. It has been a key factor for the United States' support for Georgia, allowing the West to reduce its reliance on Middle Eastern oil while bypassing Russia and Iran.
During 2008, both Georgia and Russia accused each other of preparing for war. In April 2008, Russia said that Georgia was massing 1,500 soldiers and police in the upper Kodori Gorge area and planning to invade the breakaway region of Abkhazia. Russia said it was boosting its forces there and in the South Ossetia region as a response. Later, UNOMIG denied any build up in the Kodori Gorge or near the Abkhazian border by either sides.
In the same month Russia increased the number of its military peacekeepers in Abkhazia to 2,542 by deploying hundreds of paratroopers into the region. Even after the increase, troop levels still remained within the 3,000 limit imposed by a 1994 decision of CIS
heads of state. Sergey Lavrov said that his country was not preparing for war but would "retaliate" against any attack.
On 16 April Russia's president Vladimir Putin signed a decree authorising direct official relations between Russian government bodies and the secessionist authorities in Georgia's Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The move further heightened tensions between Russia and Georgia.
On 20 April, a Russian jet shot down a Georgian reconnaissance drone
flying over Abkhazia.
After the incident Saakashvili deployed 12,000 Georgian troops to Senaki. Georgian interior ministry officials showed the BBC video footage, which Georgia said showed Russian troops deploying heavy military hardware in the breakaway region of Abkhazia. According to Georgia, "it proved the Russians were a fighting force, not just peacekeepers." Russia strongly denied the accusations. Both countries also accused each other of flying jets over South Ossetia, violating the ceasefire.
From July to early August, Georgia and Russia conducted two parallel military exercises, the joint US-Georgian Immediate Response 2008
and the Russian Caucasus Frontier 2008
. According to a paper published by Institute for Security and Development Policy
shortly after the war, the Russian troops remained by the Georgian border instead of returning to their bases after the end of their exercise on 2 August. After the war, Major General Vyacheslav Borisov
and commander of the 76th Airborne Division
praised the exercises in the region as one of the reasons why his unit performed well in the war. The Georgian 4th Brigade, which later spearheaded the attack into Tskhinvali, took part in the Georgian exercise along with 1,000 American troops. This caused Russia to accuse the United States of helping Georgian attack preparations. After the exercise, the Georgian Artillery Brigade, normally based in two locations, in Senaki and in Gori, was now moved completely to Gori, 25 km (16 mi) from the South Ossetian border. According to Colonel Wolfgang Richter, a leading military adviser to the German OSCE mission, Georgia concentrated troops along the South Ossetian border in July.
On 5 August, Russian ambassador-at-large Yuri Popov reiterated the Russian position that his country would intervene in the event of military conflict. The Ambassador of South Ossetia to Moscow, Dmitry Medoyev
, declared that volunteers were already arriving, primarily from North Ossetia, in the region of South Ossetia to offer help in the event of Georgian aggression.
According to Moscow Defense Brief
, an English-language defence magazine published by the Russian NGO, Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies
, the Georgians "appear to have secretly concentrated a significant number of troops and equipment to the South Ossetian border in early August, under the cover of providing support for the exchange of fire with South Ossetian formations". The Georgian forces included the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Infantry Brigades, the Artillery Brigade, elements of the 1st Infantry Brigade, and the separate Gori Tank Battalion, plus special forces and Ministry of the Internal Affairs troops — as many as 16,000 men, according to the publication. International Institute for Strategic Studies
and Western intelligence experts give a lower estimate, saying that the Georgians had amassed about 12,000 troops and 75 tanks on the South Ossetian border by 7 August. On the opposite side, there were said to be 1,000 Russian peacekeepers and 500 South Ossetian fighters
defending Tskhinvali, according to an estimate quoted by Der Spiegel
.
, and Prisi. Two people (one Ossetian and one Georgian) were killed, and four were injured in the clashes. Several houses in the Georgian villages shelled were also reportedly damaged. A fourteen-year-old boy was also injured by a land mine close to Ergneti, and subsequently died of his injuries. In early July 2008, violence again erupted throughout South Ossetia. On July 3, Ossetian militia attacked a convoy in an attempt to assassinate Dmitry Sanakoyev
, chairman of the Georgian-backed Ossetian government (the Provisional Administrative Entity of South Ossetia
). The attack failed to kill Sanakoyev, but injured three of his bodyguards. A South Ossetian police official was killed by a bomb attack on that same day. On July 9, four Russian Air Force
jets performed a mission over South Ossetia to dissuade the Georgian Air Force
from continuing UAV patrols in Ossetian airspace. Throughout July, a series of bomb blasts also targeted Georgian police patrols, the most serious being a July 31 bomb attack against a Georgian police SUV, wounding six police officers. Ossetian militia repeatedly fired on Georgian villages in South Ossetia, forcing Georgian police to return fire. On August 1, in the worst violence in years, clashes and shelling erupted between the Georgian and Ossetian forces. Casualties totalled 11 dead and 21 injured. Five of the dead were Ossetian militiamen, and another was a Russian peacekeeper from North Ossetia-Alania
. They had been killed by Georgian snipers using large-caliber sniper rifles. Five Georgians were also killed in the fighting. Each side accused the other of firing first. During the week, the fighting intensified. On 3 August, the Russian foreign ministry warned that an extensive military conflict was about to erupt. According to a Der Spiegel article, officials in European governments and intelligence agencies assumed that the warning concerned Saakashvili's plans for an invasion of South Ossetia, plans which had been completed earlier. Three days later, the evacuation of Ossetian women and children to Russia was completed, as some 35,000 people were successfully evacuated. Starting with the night of 6–7 August there were continuous exchanges of artillery fire between both sides. On August 6, Georgia reported that Ossetian militia had destroyed a Georgian Army APC in Avnevi
, wounding three Georgian peacekeepers.
At 2 p.m. on 7 August the Georgian peacekeeping checkpoint in Avnevi
was reportedly shelled, killing two Georgian peacekeepers. At around 2:30 p.m. Georgia mobilized tanks, 122mm howitzers, and 203mm self-propelled artillery guns in the direction of the administrative border of South Ossetia. In the late afternoon OSCE monitors confirmed the move of Georgian artillery and Grad
rocket launchers massing on roads north of Gori. At 2:42 p.m. Georgia withdrew its personnel from the JPKF Headquarters in Tskhinvali. Georgian peacekeeping troops in South Ossetia also began evacuating their posts.
At 4 p.m. Temur Yakobashvili, the Georgian Minister of Reintegration, arrived in Tskhinvali for a previously-agreed meeting with South Ossetians in the presence of chief Russian negotiator over South Ossetia, Yuri Popov. The Ossetians did not show up — a day before, the South Ossetian side refused to participate in bilateral talks, demanding a JCC
session (consisting of Georgia, Russia, North and South Ossetia) instead, but Tbilisi had withdrawn from the JCC in March, demanding the format include also the EU, the OSCE and the Provisional Administrative Entity of South Ossetia
. Yakobashvili confirmed that Tskhinvali was already largely evacuated: "Nobody was in the streets — no cars, no people". He met with the Russian commander of the Joint Peacekeeping Force (JPKF), General Marat Kulakhmetov
, who stated that the Russian peacekeepers cannot stop Ossetian attacks and advised the Georgians to declare a ceasefire.
At about 7 p.m., President Saakashvili ordered a unilateral ceasefire, advised earlier that day by Kulakhmetov. The ceasefire held for a few hours and was also observed by the South Ossetian side, until firing was reportedly resumed again at around 10 p.m. Georgian armor continued to move to the South Ossetian line even during Saakashvili's ceasefire, and the Russian and Ossetian governments claimed that the ceasefire was "just an attempt to buy time" while Georgian forces positioned themselves for a major attack. According to the Jamestown Foundation, attacks on Georgian villages intensified following Saakashvili's address. Avnevi
was almost completely destroyed, Tamarasheni
and Prisi were shelled, and a police station in Kurta
(seat of the Provisional Administrative Entity of South Ossetia
) was destroyed by shelling. Civilian refugees began fleeing the villages. The Georgian Interior Ministry reported that ten Georgian soldiers had been killed in clashes throughout August 7.
During a news broadcast that began at 11 p.m., Saakashvili announced that ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia were being shelled. Georgia announced that it was launching an operation to "restore constitutional order" as a response to the shelling. An OSCE monitoring group in Tskhinvali did not record outgoing artillery fire from the South Ossetian side in the hours before the start of Georgian bombardment. Two British OSCE observers reported hearing only occasional small-arms fire, but no shelling. According to Der Spiegel, NATO officials attested that minor skirmishes had taken place, but nothing that amounted to a provocation.
According to Georgian intelligence and several Russian sources, parts of 58th Russian Army moved to South Ossetian territory through the Roki Tunnel before the Georgian attack.
In his interview to the CNN, answering to the anchor's question, "Did you take a gamble? Your government launched its own attempt to retake South Ossetia, guess 24 hour ago?" Saakashvili answered "We did not. [Only when Russian APCs crossed the border at 24 AM, August 7] we had to fire back the artillery, we had to take measures. Because it was a clear-cut case of intervention."
However, no conclusive evidence was presented by Georgia or its Western supporters that Russia was invading the country before the Georgian attack, according to the New York Times. Instead, "the accounts suggest that Georgia’s inexperienced military attacked the isolated separatist capital of Tskhinvali on 7 August with indiscriminate artillery and rocket fire, exposing civilians, Russian peacekeepers and unarmed monitors to harm". Georgia's claim to be responding to a premeditated Russian assault received little support from the US and NATO.
At 10:30 p.m. on 7 August, Georgian artillery units began firing smoke shells into South Ossetia.
Half an hour later, Georgian forces began a major artillery bombardment on heights surrounding Tskhinvali and several villages. Several other villages were more lightly shelled. The Georgians used 27 rocket launchers, including BM-21 Grad and LAR-160
units. Georgian forces also used 152mm heavy self-propelled gun
s and cluster bomb
s. At 11:45 p.m. OSCE monitors reported that shells were falling on Tskhinvali every 15–20 seconds.
The Georgians claimed that they were targeting Ossetian militia positions. According to numerous witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch
, including Ossetian militiamen, South Ossetian forces were present in Tskhinvali and neighboring villages. In Tskhinvali, they set up headquarters and defensive positions inside some civilian infrastructure. Such locations included the South Ossetian parliament building, as well as several schools and nurseries, which were hit by Georgian artillery fire. In the numerous villages which were shelled, positions of Ossetian militia were in close proximity to civilian homes. Georgia claimed that the BM-21 Grad rockets employed were used solely to shell South Ossetian artillery positions.
Early in the morning of 8 August, Georgia launched a military offensive
, codenamed Operation Clear Field to capture Tskhinvali. According to the EU fact-finding mission, 10,000 –11,000 soldiers took part in the general Georgian offensive in South Ossetia. The Georgian 4th Brigade from Vaziani
spearheaded the infantry attack, while the 2nd and 3rd Brigades attacked important heights, from which they were to move forward and seize the Didi Gupta bridge and numerous roads leading from the Roki Tunnel, in order to block a Russian counterattack. The 2nd and 3rd Brigades seized several strategic South Ossetian villages located on higher ground around the city. After securing the heights around Tskhinvali, Georgian Interior Ministry commandos, supported by Sukhoi Su-25
strike aircraft, artillery, tanks, and Otokar Cobra
armored vehicles, entered the city. South Ossetian sources claimed that a Georgian tank attack on the suburbs of the city was repelled by South Ossetian militia at 3:46 AM. According to Ossetian sources, Georgian Su-25 planes bombed the village of Kvernet. Ossetian forces claimed to have downed one Georgian Su-25 bomber early on August 8.
According to Russian sources, Georgian troops had captured the Southern Base of the Russian peacekeepers by 11:00 a.m. Georgian forces then sent in armored units to smash resistance offered by Russian peacekeepers and Ossetian militia. Russian peacekeepers repelled five Georgian assaults and continued to engage Georgian forces, losing 2 dead and 5 wounded. During the fighting, three Georgian T-72
tanks destroyed several Russian BMP-2
vehicles, and Russian forces returned fire, disabling one tank and forcing the other two back. According to Georgia, Georgian forces attacked Russian peacekeepers in self-defense after coming under fire from their bases.
At around 12:15 a.m, Georgian tanks and artillery shelled the barracks of the Russian peacekeepers, killing 10 soldiers. The peacekeepers' cafeteria was completely destroyed, and all of their buildings went up in flames.
Georgian shelling left parts of the capital city in ruins. The shelling of the city was extensively covered by Russian media prior to the military counteroffensive that followed. Russia claimed to have responded to an attack on the peacekeepers base and in defense of South Ossetian civilians against what they called "a genocide by Georgian forces".
South Ossetian and Russian authorities claimed that the civilian casualties in Tskhinvali may amount up to 2,000. These high casualty figures were later revised down to 162 casualties.
By 8 am. on 8 August, Georgian infantry and tanks had entered Tskhinvali and engaged in a fierce battle with Ossetian militia and the Russian peacekeeping battalion stationed in the city. Georgian forces entered particular parts of the city, located Ossetian positions, and then pulled back and called in artillery and airstrikes on identified enemy positions. Georgian snipers fired on Ossetian militia in support, and according to Ossetian sources, indiscriminately shot civilians, including people outside the city hospital. Georgian troops burned down the South Ossetian Presidential Palace, Ministry of Culture, and Parliament. A number of apartment blocks were set ablaze, and the streets were pocketed with numerous bomb craters. A Guardian
reporter claimed that while some neighborhoods were intact, "there were patches of terrible destruction".
Russian artillery took positions in the north of the city and opened fire on Georgian forces, and the Russian Air Force began flying sorties against Georgian targets early on 8 August, utilizing Su-24, Su-25, Su-27, and Tu-22M aircraft, hitting Georgian armored columns and artillery positions. Georgian forces abandoned two T-72 tanks, along with some armored vehicles and pieces of equipment after a Russian Su-25 airstrike killed 20 soldiers and wounded more. During the early stages of the battle, three Russian Sukhoi Su-25 planes were shot down by Georgian anti-aircraft fire. A Russian Tupolev Tu-22M
was also shot down by Georgian air defenses. Three of its crew members were killed, and another was taken prisoner. According to some reports, two other Russian jets were shot down by friendly fire. According to Georgian officials, 1,500 Georgian ground troops had reached the centre of Tskhinvali by 10 a.m. on 8 August, but were pushed back three hours later by Russian artillery and air attacks. By the afternoon, the Georgians had captured most of Tskhinvali, but were unable to take the northern quarters, where they were meeting heavy resistance from Ossetian militia and Russian troops, including regular Russian forces arriving from the Roki Tunnel. The Georgian 2nd and 3rd Brigades also ran into resistance, and were unable to take the Didi Gupta Bridge and the main routes leading to the Roki Tunnel. A Georgian air attack against the Didi Gupta bridge also failed to destroy it.
The BBC reported that Georgia may have committed war crimes during its attack on Tskhinvali, including possible deliberate targeting of civilians. Human Rights Watch found some evidence of firing being directed into basements, locations which civilians frequently choose as a place of shelter.
Ossetian militia and armed civilian volunteers engaged the Georgians in heavy street fighting, mainly utilizing ambushes. South Ossetian reinforcements passed from Dzhava on the Zara highway and entered Tskhinvali, carrying with them anti-tank weapons which proved successful in fighting Georgian armor. Three Georgian T-72 tanks were destroyed in the city centre of Tskhinvali by Ossetian forces utilizing RPG-7
anti-tank rockets. Two other Georgian tanks were abandoned on the Zars road, and were subsequently detonated by Russian troops. Ossetian military and civilian casualties mounted, and the operating room at Tskhinvali hospital was relocated to the basement. According to the hospital's head surgeon, about 700 operations were performed by candlelight. As blood supplies were low, many doctors donated their own blood before performing surgery. Priority was given to treating lightly injured Ossetian militiamen, so that they could rejoin the street fighting, only a few blocks away. The hospital itself was repeatedly hit by shelling, and 25 of the staff were killed or wounded.
According to Georgia, Russian military aircraft violated Georgian airspace around 10 a.m. on 8 August. Starting around 2 p.m., international press agencies began running reports of Russian tanks in the Roki tunnel
. According to a senior Russian official, the first Russian combat unit, the First Battalion of the 135th Motorized Rifle Regiment, was ordered at around dawn of 8 August to move through the Roki Tunnel and reinforce the Russian peacekeeping forces in Tskhinvali. According to him, the unit passed through the tunnel at 2:30 p.m. It reached Tskhinvali in the evening, meeting heavy resistance from Georgian troops. Georgia disputed the account, saying that it was in heavy combat with Russian forces near the tunnel long before dawn of 8 August. Some Western intelligence experts believe that Russian troops did not begin marching through the tunnel until roughly 11 a.m. on 8 August. By the afternoon of August 8, Georgian forces had captured large parts of Tskhinvali, but had been unable to take the Northern quarter and the city centre. However, the Georgians were meeting heavy resistance from Ossetian militia and Russian reinforcements coming in from the Roki Tunnel. Georgian flank operations were unsuccessful in their goal of blocking the Gupta Bridge and the main routes leading to Tskhinvali from the Roki Tunnel and Java base. The Georgians became bogged down and their advance was stopped. Ossetian militia using handheld anti-tank weaponry proved effective against Georgian armor, knocking out a number of Georgian tanks, which eventually stopped disorganized and un-coordinated attacks. Isolated from the main Georgian forces, the Georgian Army's battalion-strong Kchevi Tank Group attacked from a Georgian village enclave and attempted to hit Russian forces moving along the detour Zara highway in the flank, but was stopped by Russian artillery fire and airstrikes.
During the evening of 8 August, vicious fighting took place in the area of Tskhinvali and in other parts of South Ossetia. The fighting in South Ossetian towns and villages was done by the local militia and volunteers, while Russian troops concentrated on engaging larger Georgian army groups. Three Tactical Battalion Groups of the 19th Motorized Rifle Division
deployed in battle formation pushed Georgian forces from the roads and heights near Dzari, Kverneti, and Tbeti districts, and as far west as the western edge of Tskhinvali. Russia also undertook action to suppress Georgian artillery fire. Russian special units reportedly prevented Georgian "saboteurs" from blowing up the Roki Tunnel, which could have hindered the sending of reinforcements to South Ossetia. Russian media reported that exchanges of fire between Russian and Georgian troops continued throughout the night.
The passage of Russian forces through the narrow Roki Tunnel and along the mountain roads was slow and the Russians had difficulties in concentrating their troops, forcing them to bring their forces into battle battalion by battalion. Because of this, a fierce battle took place on 9 August in the region of Tskhinvali, and the Georgians were able to mount several counterattacks, including some with tanks. These attacks were repulsed with losses, and the Georgians were forced to withdraw. Because of the gradual increase in troops, the combined amassed Russian and South Ossetian forces in South Ossetia outnumbered the Georgians for the first time on 9–10 August. The Russians moved between 5,500 and 10,000 troops to South Ossetia through the Roki Tunnel, according to Der Spiegel. On August 9, a Russian advance column led by Lieutenant-General Anatoly Khrulyov
moved into Tskhinvali from the Roki Tunnel, and was ambushed by Georgian special forces. The column took heavy casualties, and all but five of its thirty armored vehicles were destroyed. Lieutenant-General Khrulyov was wounded in the leg by shrapnel. Russian Major Denis Vetchinov
managed to organized a defense. Despite being hit in both legs, he killed a Georgian soldier with a trophy Georgian machine gun, but he was hit in the head by Georgian return fire and died en route to hospital. Vetchinov was awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation
posthumously. Among the wounded were two Russian journalists embedded with the column. One Russian Su-24
was shot down by Georgian air defenses, and the Russian Air Force stopped flying sorties against Georgian targets until 10 August.
At 5:00 a.m., two Russian tanks of the 141st Independent Tank Battalion broke through the Georgian encirclement of the Russian peacekeeping camp, reinforcing the peacekeepers and allowing casualties to be evacuated. One tank was destroyed, and the other ran out of ammunition by nightfall.
The Georgians continued advancing through the city, and forced Russian and South Ossetian forces back in heavy street fighting. According to Moscow Defense Brief
, by the morning of August 10, the Georgians had captured almost the whole of Tskhinvali, forcing Ossetian militia and Russian forces to retreat to the northern reaches of the city. A little tank battle took place, during which one Russian T-62, one T-72B and one Georgian T-72Sim1 tanks were destroyed. The Georgians also targeted Russian forces with artillery and airstrikes. However, the fighting reached a turning point toward the evening of August 10, when Russian and Ossetian troops were fully bolstered by Russian reinforcements from the Roki Tunnel, and counterattacked. Georgian forces were cleared out of most of Tskhinvali, and forced to retreat to the south of the city. Georgian forces were also driven off the key Prisi heights. The bulk of Georgian artillery was defeated. Meanwhile, Ossetian forces supported by Russian divisions captured the villages of Tamarasheni, Kekhvi, Kurta, and Achabeti on the approach to Tskhinvali from the north, and pushed Georgian forces out of several enclaves. However, Georgian units in the area around the village of Zemo-Nikosi carried out a successful ambush against Russian forces, killing a number of soldiers and destroying several tanks. The village was captured shortly afterward by Chechen paramilitaries of the Vostok Battalion. Georgian artillery continued to shell Tskhinvali from a number of high points. On 11 August, the Georgian Air Force continued launching air attacks on Russian forces. A Russian Su-24 was shot down by Georgian air defenses, and a Georgian Su-25 was also shot down, but the pilot survived. According to Russian sources, Georgian artillery resumed shelling Tskhinvali, and a South Ossetian government representative claimed that Georgian troops opened the irrigation canal to flood basements and prevent civilians from seeking shelter. That information was never confirmed. Throughout the day, intense ground combat continued, and by the end of the day, Georgian forces had been completely pushed out of South Ossetia.
According to the Georgian Defense Minister, the Georgian military tried to push into Tskhinvali three times in all. During the last attempt, they were met with a very heavy Russian-led counter attack with air support, which Georgian officials described as "something like hell." In total, the fighting in the Tskhinvali area lasted for three days and nights, by the end of which Georgian artillery was forced from positions from which it could shell the city and Georgia's ground forces pulled completely out of South Ossetia.
Russian forces advanced into Georgia proper by the next morning. Having retreated from South Ossetia, the Georgian forces regrouped at Gori
.
During its orderly retreat out of South Ossetia into Gori, the Georgian forces were repeatedly hit by Russian air and artillery strikes which inflicted massive casualties upon mostly lightly armored vehicles and Infantry units in tight column formations. Hundreds were wounded and dozens killed. Despite the call for a ceasefire what the Georgian government agreed on without Russia following, Georgian units were not spared from being intensively bombed. The attacks decisively dropped the fighting morale of the Georgian troops. The general withdrawal became chaotic in some areas and many Georgian soldiers used civilian vehicles to escape the bombing.
A little skirmish occurred on August 11, when a Georgian logistics column was hit hard by a Russian VDV detachment which' vehicles, a BMD-1
stood broken near a road to the town of Gori
. The unit instantly opened heavy fire after having visual on the column killing a dozen Georgians. The soldiers in the Landrover vehicles had little chance but a few still managed to escape the scene. Corpses gathered from the roads, were driven out with civilian vans and pickups. More than 70 dead were registered besides the 90 KIA
in Tskhinvali
and other parts of South Ossetia, what brought the total number of Georgian military casaulties to 170 dead and hundreds of wounded.
Gori
is a major Georgian city close to the administrative boundary of the region of South Ossetia, about 25 km (16 mi) from Tskhinvali. The Georgian Army used Gori as its staging area during the Battle of Tskhinvali
, and the Russian Air Force bombed the city several times. Seventy-five tanks and armored personnel carriers—a third of the Georgian military's arsenal—were assembled near Gori. Georgian artillery units were also stationed near Gori.
According to western intelligence, the Russian bombings began at 7:30 a.m. 8 August, when Russia fired an SS-21 ballistic missile at military or government bunkers in the city of Borjomi
, southwest of Gori. The first Russian air attack hit the village of Shavshvebi, located in the Gori District. Around 6 a.m. on 9 August, Reuters reported that two Russian fighters had bombed a Georgian artillery position near Gori
. On 9 August, a Russian air attack targeted an arms depot. In the resulting explosion, several apartment buildings and a school were damaged. The Georgian government reported that 60 civilians were killed when at least one bomb hit an adjacent apartment building. According to the Russian military, Russian aircraft dropped three bombs on an armament depot, and the façade of one of the adjacent 5-story apartment buildings suffered damage as a result exploding ammunition from the depot. On August 12, a Russian cluster bomb attack hit the central square of the city, killing several Georgian civilians and Dutch journalist Stan Storimans, and injuring over 30. A helicopter-fired air-to-ground missile also struck the Gori military hospital, killing doctor Goga Abramashvili. The Georgian government also claimed that Russian bombing had hit the University of Gori, the post office, and the theater. Human Rights Watch
(HRW), an international rights group, charged Russia with deploying controversial and indiscriminately deadly cluster bombs on civilian areas of Georgia.
On the evening of 10 August, large numbers of the civilian population began to flee the city and the surrounding area after the Georgian Interior Ministry declared Gori to be not safe. By the next day, 11 August, 56,000 people had fled the Gori District.
The Georgian Army expected that the Russians would attempt to take Gori, and Georgian troops, armored vehicles, and heavy artillery took positions 25 kilometers north of Gori, and anti-aircraft units were stationed inside the city. Following its defeat at Tskhinvali, the Georgian Army regrouped at Gori. Russian and South Ossetian forces established artillery positions inside Georgia proper. In the hours before the fall of Gori, sustained exchanges of artillery fire took place, and Russian jets bombed Georgian positions nine kilometers from the border. Six Georgian helicopter gunships also attacked targets inside South Ossetia.
After the Russians were confirmed to be advancing towards Gori, Georgian commanders ordered a retreat of all Georgian forces to defend Tbilisi. At 5 p.m. on 12 August, the Georgian Army began abandoning the city. A Times reporter described the Georgian withdrawal as "sudden and dramatic", saying that "the Gori residents watched in horror as their army abandoned their positions". According to Moscow Defense Brief
, the retreat of the Georgian army from Gori soon grew into "a panicked flight" almost all the way to Tbilisi. Scores of Georgian tanks and armored personnel carries fled to Tbilisi, while a number of tanks were abandoned. Most artillery pieces were also taken to Tbilisi, but six assault guns were abandoned. A tank exploded and burned due to unspecified reasons, and an armored car pushing it out of the way also caught fire. Georgian infantry fled the city in military trucks and civilian vehicles. Five soldiers escaped the city on a Quad bike
. Two military trucks crashed into each other while retreating from the city, and dozens of vehicles were left behind. Many of Gori's remaining inhabitants also fled the city, including hospital staff fleeing in ambulances.
On 13 August Russian ground forces entered Gori. Gori was completely clear of Georgian forces when the Russians entered. On 14 August, the Russian commander in charge of the troops occupying Gori, Major General Vyacheslav Borisov claimed that the city of Gori was controlled jointly by Georgian Police and Russian troops. He further said that Russian troops would start leaving Gori in two days. Russian troops said they were removing military hardware and ammunition from an abandoned arms depot outside Gori. Russian forces also captured numerous abandoned tanks, destroying 20 and taking away the rest. A Russian armored column left Gori, traveling along the main road to Tbilisi. A convoy of Georgian special forces traveling in pickup trucks was sent out to confront the Russians. After they were fifteen kilometers from the advancing Russian forces, they turned around and headed back towards Tbilisi. Russian forces halted their advance and camped out in a field fifteen kilometers from Tbilisi. Georgian forces took defensive positions on the road six miles (about 10 km) closer to Tbilisi. The Russians then abandoned their positions and headed back towards Gori. The following day, Russian forces pushed to 34 miles (55 km) from Tbilisi, the closest during the war; they stopped in Igoeti 41°59′22"N 44°25′04"E, an important crossroads.
The Russian and Ossetian forces denied access to some humanitarian aid
missions seeking to assist civilians. The United Nations
, which described the humanitarian situation in Gori as "desperate," was able to deliver only limited food supplies to the city. On 15 August, Russian troops allowed a number of humanitarian supplies into the city but continued their blockade. In the 17 August report, HRW said the organisation's researchers interviewed ethnic Georgians from the city of Gori and surrounding villages who described how armed South Ossetian militias attacked their cars and kidnapped civilians as people tried to flee in response to militia attacks on their homes following the Russian advance into the area. In phone interviews, people remaining in Gori region villages told HRW that they had witnessed looting
and arson
attacks by South Ossetian militias in their villages, but were afraid to leave after learning about militia attacks on those who fled. A Russian lieutenant said on 14 August: "We have to be honest. The Ossetians are marauding." Refugees claimed that groups of Ossetians and Russian irregulars such as Chechen and Kazakh
paramilities were entering villages, slitting the throats of men and raping women. Answering a journalist's question, a Russian lieutenant colonel said: "We're not a police force, we're a military force. It's not our job to do police work." The New York Times noted, that "the Russian military might be making efforts in some places to stop the rampaging". According to the Hague Convention
, an occupying power has to "insure public order and safety in the occupied areas". The Russian human rights group Memorial
called the attacks by South Ossetian militia "pogrom
s". On 14 August, efforts to institute joint patrols between the Russian Army and Georgian Police in Gori broke down because of apparent discord among personnel.
Georgian special forces in traveling pickup trucks repeatedly approached Gori to survey Russian positions, while Georgian Police set up roadblocks to prevent civilians from returning to the Russian-occupied city.
The occupation lasted until 22 August. Georgian Police then re-entered the city.
Ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet
left their base in Sevastopol
, Ukraine
, on the evening of 8 August. On 10 August RIA-Novosti – quoting a source at the Russian Navy Main Staff – reported that a group of Russian warships had arrived at the maritime border with Georgia in the eastern part of the Black Sea. "In the morning of Sunday 10 August, the Black Sea Fleet flagship, the missile cruiser Moskva, destroyer Smetlivyy and auxiliary vessels from the Black Sea Fleet base in Sevastopol reached the intended area", the source was quoted as saying. According to the source, the warships joined three large Russian landing-ships, which had deployed to the area earlier from Sevastopol and from Novorossiysk
. "The objective of the Black Sea Fleet's warships in the area is to be prepared to provide assistance to refugees", the source said. He denied earlier media reports that the warships were enforcing a blockade of Georgia's coast. "A naval blockade would indicate war with Georgia. We are not at war with Georgia." The flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the missile cruiser Moskva, and the escort ship Smetlivyy entered the port of Novorossiysk on Sunday 10 August and dropped anchor, according to sources in the Novorossiysk administration. On the evening of 10 August a naval skirmish
between the Russian task force and several Georgian naval vessels took place. According to Russia, two Georgian missile boat
s and two auxiliary craft breached the Russian "security zone". The Russian Nanuchka III class
corvette
Mirazh (Mirage) destroyed the Georgian Coast Guard patrol-cutter Giorgi Toreli with two Malakhit (SS-N-9)
anti-ship missiles, killing 30 sailors. This was the Russian Navy's first real sea battle since 1945. The Russians claimed that Georgian ships had violated the security zone of the Black Sea Fleet and therefore the action was in self-defense in accordance with international law. Following the action, the remaining Georgian ships withdrew to a nearby harbour.
On 9 August, Russia opened a second front in Abkhazia, deploying up to 9,000 men from the 7th Novorossiysk and 76th Pskov Air Assault Divisions, elements of the 20th Motorised Rifle Division and two battalions of the Black Sea Fleet Marines, as well as 5,000 Abkhaz light infantry and artillery support. Abkhazian aircraft and artillery began a two-day bombardment against Georgian forces. The Russian Air Force bombed a Georgian military base in Senaki
, killing 13 soldiers and wounding another 13. The base itself suffered heavy damage.
On 10 August Abkhazia declared a full military mobilisation to "drive out the 1,000 Georgian troops" from their remaining stronghold in the Kodori Valley
. Russian forces secured the Georgian controlled Khurcha settlement in Abkhazia on August 10.
On August 11, Russian paratroopers deployed in Abkhazia carried out raids against military bases deep inside Georgian territory, from where Georgia could send reinforcements to its troops in South Ossetia. Russian forces, meeting virtually no resistance, reached the military base near the town of Senaki in undisputed Georgian territory on 11 August, destroying the base there and capturing four tanks. During a reconnaissance mission, the Russian Air Force shot down two Georgian helicopters at the airbase at Senaki. Russian troops also drove through the port of Poti
, and occupied positions around it. On 12 August, the Abkhazian authorities announced the beginning of a military offensive
against Georgian troops in the Kodori Gorge area. The Georgian government claimed that Abkhaz infantry and armor was attacking Georgian defenses in the Kodori Valley. Abkhaz forces took the villages of Azhara and Chkhalta
, and a group of 250 Abkhaz soldiers was reported to have clashed with Georgian forces in the Gorge at the edge of Abkhazia. On the same day, Georgia said it was withdrawing its troops from the Kodori Gorge as a "gesture of goodwill". Clashes between Georgian and Abkhazian forces lasted until 13 August, when all of the remaining Georgian forces, as well as 1,500 civilian residents, left Kodori Valley for Georgia proper. Casualties were light on both sides. One Abkhazian soldier was killed in action and two were wounded during the fighting. Two Georgian soldiers were also killed.
and a nearby airbase. Most of the Georgian Navy and Georgian Coast Guard escaped to Batumi
during the conflict, but some vessels were left behind. On 14 August, Russian troops entered Poti and sank three Georgian naval vessels moored in the harbour, as well as removing or destroying military equipment. The Russians also seized the highway linking Poti to Tbilisi. Four days later, Russian forces in Poti took prisoner 22 Georgian troops who had approached the city. They were taken to a Georgian military base occupied by Russian troops at Senaki. The Russians seized four Georgian Humvees in that same action. From 13–15 August, according to Moscow Defence Brief
, "Russian paratroops raided Poti again and again, destroying almost all of the docked ships and boats of the Georgian Navy, and took away a quantity of valuable military equipment."
. On 8 August, the Georgian Interior Ministry reported that a Russian fighter dropped two bombs on Vaziani Military Base
near Tbilisi, killing three soldiers. Russian fighters also bombed a military airfield near Marneuli
, killing four and wounding five. According to the Georgian Interior Ministry, Russian aircraft dropped three bombs on Tbilisi International Airport
early on August 10. Reuters correspondents in Tbilisi reported hearing three loud bangs in the early-morning hours. Russia denied bombing the airport. Russia also bombed the Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing
plant (located next to Vaziani Military Base), resulting in an unspecified amount of damage. On August 11, Russia bombed a radar
station near Tbilisi.
On 10 August most international observers
began calling for a peaceful solution to the conflict. The European Union and the United States expressed a willingness to send a joint delegation to try to negotiate a ceasefire. Russia, however, ruled out peace talks with Georgia until the latter withdrew from South Ossetia and signed a legally binding pact renouncing the use of force against South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
On 12 August, Russian President Medvedev said that he had ordered an end to military operations in Georgia, saying that "the operation has achieved its goal, security for peacekeepers and civilians has been restored. The aggressor was punished, suffering huge losses." Later on the same day, he met the President-in-Office
of the European Union, French President Nicolas Sarkozy
, and approved a six-point peace plan. Late that night Georgian President Saakashvili agreed to the text. Sarkozy's plan originally had just the first four points. Russia added the fifth and sixth points. Georgia asked for the additions in parentheses, but Russia rejected them, and Sarkozy convinced Georgia to agree to the unchanged text. On 14 August, South Ossetia President Eduard Kokoity and Abkhazia President Sergei Bagapsh
signed the peace plan as well.
After the cease fire had been signed, hostilities did not immediately stop. According to Moscow Defence Brief
, active raids on bases inside Georgian territory to capture and destroy Georgian weapons and equipment, in what was termed the "demilitarization of the Georgian Armed Forces". Noting that people were fleeing before the still advancing Russian tanks and soldiers and the following "irregulars", a reporter for the UK The Guardian stated on 13 August, "the idea there is a ceasefire is ridiculous." On 15 August, United States Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice
also travelled to Tbilisi, where Saakashvili signed the 6-point peace plan in her presence. Russia and Georgia exchanged prisoners of war on 19 August. Georgia said it handed over 5 Russian servicemen, in exchange for 13 Georgians soldiers and 2 civilians, but said that it suspected Russia of holding 2 more Georgians prisoner.
. He was subsequently put in front of the media and allowed to answer questions from journalists before being handed over to OSCE observers. On 9 October, Russian forces withdrew from the buffer zones and dismantled all their checkpoints. Georgian Army and police forces and civilians subsequently returned. The withdrawal was observed by European Union monitors. A single checkpoint in the border village of Perevi remained. On December 12, Russian forces withdrew from Perevi, and were replaced by Georgian police. Hours later, a 500-strong Russian contingent re-occupied Perevi, and Georgian police withdrew after the Russians threatened to fire. Russian forces established three checkpoints in the village. On 18 October 2010, all Russian troops in Perevi withdrew to South Ossetia after dismantling the checkpoints, and were replaced by a Georgian Army unit. On 9 September 2008, Russia officially announced that its troops in South Ossetia and Abkhazia would "henceforth be considered foreign troops stationed in independent states under bilateral agreements". Georgia considers Abkhazia and South Ossetia "Russian-occupied territories". Russia maintains 3,700 soldiers in both South Ossetia and Abkhazia and opened military bases in Java, Tskhinvali, and Gudauta
in 2010.
Russia spent $400 million on the bases. In August 2010, Russia deployed S-300 long-range air defense missiles in Abkhazia, and other air defense systems in South Ossetia. Britain
and France
both criticized Russia for this move. According to the British House of Lords
, Russia is in violation of the six-point peace plan by keeping troops stationed in areas it did not previously control. The French government
said that Russia was not yet fulfilling its commitments to the six-point peace plan.
On October 3, 2008, seven Russian soldiers were killed and another seven wounded by a car bomb that exploded near the Russian peacekeeping headquarters. According to South Ossetian sources, the car had been found by Russian soldiers in a Georgian village, and had been confiscated and taken to the base, where it blew up. The Russian and South Ossetian governments blamed the Georgian Security Ministry for the attack, saying that it was an attempt to undermine the cease-fire, while Georgia claimed that Russia had organized the explosion as an excuse to maintain its presence in South Ossetia.
A number of incidents have occurred in both border conflict zones since the war ended, and tensions between the belligerents remain high.
According to Human Rights Watch
(HRW), all parties committed serious violations of international human rights and
humanitarian law, resulting in many civilian deaths and injuries. Georgian forces used indiscriminate force during their attack on South Ossetia "with blatant disregard for the safety of civilians." The Georgians directed tank and machine gun fire at buildings in Tskhinvali, including at apartment buildings and basements where civilians sheltered. South Ossetian forces had fired on Georgian forces from at least some of these buildings. The Georgian military used BM-21 Grad MRLs, a multiple rocket launch system, to destroy targets situated in civilian areas. The Russian military has also used indiscriminate force in attacks in South Ossetia and in the Gori district, and has apparently targeted convoys of civilians attempting to flee the conflict zones. Russian warplanes bombed civilian population centres in Georgia, and Georgian villages in South Ossetia. A Russian bombing in the Georgian city of Gori
killed 60 civilians and wounded scores more. Armed gangs and Ossetian militia committed looting
, arson
attacks, rape
and abductions
in Georgian villages and towns, terrorising the civilian population, forcing them to flee their homes and preventing displaced people from returning home. In the Georgian city of Gori
, Ossetian militia terrorised the civilian population and attacked anyone who tried to flee. The Georgian Army had retreated to defend Tbilisi, and did not return until the Russians and Ossetians withdrew.
HRW further reports that both Georgians and Russians used cluster bombs of the types M85S and RBK 250, resulting in civilian casualties. Georgia admits using cluster bombs against Russian troops and the Roki tunnel. Georgia was also reported to have used cluster munitions twice to hit civilians fleeing from the battle zone through the main escape route. Russia denies the use of cluster bombs, but is accused of having used them in its attacks against Gori, Ruisi and Karbi. HRW called the conflict a disaster for civilians. HRW also called for international organisations to send fact-finding missions to establish the facts, report on human rights, and urged the authorities to account for any crimes.
On 8 September Thomas Hammarberg
, Council of Europe
Commissioner for Human Rights
, issued a report titled "Human Rights in Areas Affected by the South Ossetia Conflict" stating that during the conflict "a very large number of people had been victimised. More than half of the population in South Ossetia fled, the overwhelming majority of them after the Georgian artillery and tank attack on Tskhinvali and the assaults on Georgian villages by South Ossetian militia and criminal gangs." The report also states that the main Tskhinvali hospital had been hit by rockets, that some "residential areas in the city" of Tskhinvali were "completely destroyed" and "the main building of the Russian peace keeping force as well as the base’s medical dispensary had been hit by heavy artillery." Furthermore, the villages with ethnic Georgian majority between Tskhinvali
and Java
"have been destroyed, reportedly by South Ossetian militia and criminal gangs."
According to Human Rights Watch, during the August war, South Ossetian militias burned and looted most ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia, effectively preventing 20,000 residents displaced by the conflict from returning. Furthermore, the civilians willing to live in South Ossetia are obliged to accept a Russian passport in order to be authorised to. According to Memorial the villages of Kekhvi
, Kurta
, Achabeti, Tamarasheni
, Eredvi, Vanati and Avnevi
have been "virtually fully burnt down". South Ossetian president Eduard Kokoity stated in an interview that Georgian villages were successfully demolished and none of the Georgian refugees would be allowed to return. A total of 30,000 Georgians became refugees.
In the weeks following the conflict, the Georgian government began building numerous settlements throughout the country to permanently accommodate Georgian refugees.
In November 2008, Amnesty International
released a 69 page report detailing serious international law violations on the conduct of war by both Georgia and Russia. The great majority of those killed in the war were civilians. Russian and South Ossetian officials initially claimed that up to 2,000 Ossetian civilians were killed by georgian forces. These high casualty figures, are according to Russia the reason for the military intervention in Georgia. Almost one year after the conflict, Georgia has reported more than 413 deaths. Based on reports by Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, The estimate the Commissioner received from the Russian authorities on confirmed deaths was 133 people in Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia. Human Rights in Areas Affected by the South Ossetia Conflict. Special Mission to Georgia and Russian Federation] On the other hand, the false claims of high casualties may have significantly influenced public sentiment among Ossetians. According to Human Rights Watch
, some of the Ossetian residents they interviewed justified the torching and looting of the Georgian villages by referring to "thousands of civilian casualties in South Ossetia," as reported by Russian federal TV channels. Stan Storimans, a Dutch
journalist, was the only foreigner killed in the conflict.
Both sides have filed complaints with various international courts, including the International Criminal Court
, the International Court of Justice
(where the written pleadings in the case Georgia vs Russian Federation start on 2 September 2009) and the European Court of Human Rights
, against each other.
The EU commission also found facts of ethnic cleansing of Georgians.
On 12 August local authorities stated that approximately 70% of Tskhinvali's buildings, both municipal and private, had suffered damage during the Georgian offensive. According to later statements made by Russian and Ossetian sources, about 20% of the Tskhinvali's buildings had suffered various damage, including an estimate of 700, or about 10% of the city's buildings, as being "beyond repair".
According to Human Rights Watch
, on the night of 7 to 8 August, Georgian forces shelled the city of Tskhinvali and several nearby Ossetian villages heavily. Tskhinvali was also heavily shelled during daytime hours on 8 August. HRW reports that South Ossetian fighters took up positions in civilian locations, including schools and a kindergarten, turning them into legitimate military targets. Several of these locations were then hit by Georgian artillery. Shelling resumed at a smaller scale on 9 August, when Georgian forces were targeting Russian troops who by then had moved into Tskhinvali and other areas of South Ossetia. The organisation has discovered evidence of widespread destruction in Tskhinvali caused by indiscriminate fire from Georgian artillery and rocket launchers. Tskhinvali residents are almost unanimous in blaming the Georgian troops for the destruction of the city.
The Georgian side maintains that the Russian Army should be held responsible for heavy damage and destruction of buildings and infrastructure in Tskhinvali, as it was bombing the city for three days. "When aircraft started bombing our positions in Tskhinvali, this is when most civilian buildings were burned", explained Davit Kezerashvili
. Russian journalist Julia Latinina also blames Russia for damaging the city. According to a Georgian police officer, "the city was unimpaired" when they entered into it.
Russia bombed airfields and economic infrastructure, including the Black Sea
port of Poti
. Between eight and eleven Russian jets reportedly hit container tanks and a shipbuilding plant at the port. On 16 August 2008, Russian forces advancing towards Tbilisi exploded the railway bridge near Kaspi
, about 50 km (31 mi) outside of the Georgian capital, thus cutting the link between Eastern and Western Georgia as well as the main transport link between landlocked Armenia
and the Georgian Black Sea ports of Batumi
and Poti
. The cement factory and civilian area in Kaspi were also reportedly damaged by Russian air-raids.
From 19 August onwards the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) released a series of detailed satellite maps of the regions affected by the war via its Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT
). All damage is assessed from satellite images (with a resolution of up to 60 cm), however it is not independently validated on the ground. For Tskhinvali, UNOSAT reports 230 (5.5% of the total) of buildings either destroyed or severely damaged. In the villages to the north of Tskhinvali (controlled by Georgia previous to the war) between 5.4% and 51.9% of the total buildings were affected. Human Rights Watch
(HRW) used the images to support the claim that widespread torching of ethnic Georgian villages by Ossetian militia had occurred inside South Ossetia. With regard to the city of Poti, UNOSAT provided imagery that witnesses a total of 6 Georgian naval vessels either "partially or completely submerged". "No other damage to physical infrastructure or vessel-related oil spills" were detected.
Interfax.ru reported that retreating Georgian forces mined civilian infrastructure in South Ossetia, including some private house basements that civilians used to hide in during the Georgian offensive.
Many countries and institutions promised reconstruction aid for the affected regions
.
was established by the EU to determine the causes of the war. The commission was given a budget of €1.6 million and also incorporated earlier reports by the OSCE, HRW and other organisations.
The Report stated that conflict started "with a massive Georgian artillery attack...against the town of Tskhinvali and the surrounding areas, launched in the night of 7 to 8 August 2008", but was "...mere culmination of series of provocations..." and that all sides share responsibility.
The commission found that all parties violated international law during the conflict. While the report acknowledged the presence of some non-peacekeeping Russian troops in South Ossetia, their presence did not justify the initial Georgian attack. The EU Report found that the Georgian actions were disproportionate as a response to low level attacks by South Ossetian forces.
The report also stated that "the use of force by Georgia against Russian peacekeeping forces in Tskhinvali in the night of 7/8 August 2008 would be contrary to international law". The report said that "if the Russian peacekeepers were attacked," then "the immediate [Russian] reaction in defense of Russian peacekeepers" would be justified, as "Russia had the right to defend its peacekeepers, using military means proportionate to the attack" (the report did not have facts to substantiate the claimed attack on the peacekeepers, but found it "likely" that Russian PKF casualties occurred). The later, second, part of Russian actions, is characterised as "the invasion of Georgia by Russian armed forces reaching far beyond the administrative boundary of South Ossetia", and is considered to be "beyond the reasonable limits of defence". With respect to the war's second theater, the report found the Abkhaz/Russian attack on the Kodori Gorge was not justified under international law.
Russia says it acted to defend Russian citizens in South Ossetia, and its own peacekeepers stationed there. The Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia suffered casualties during the initial Georgian artillery barrage on Tskhinvali and were besieged by Georgian troops for two days until a Russian unit broke through to their camp and started evacuating the wounded at 5 a.m. on 9 August. According to a senior Russian official, the first Russian combat unit was ordered to move through the Roki Tunnel at around dawn of 8 August well after the Georgian attack had begun. Defending Russia's decision to launch attacks on uncontested Georgia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
has said that Russia had no choice but to target the military infrastructure being used to sustain the Georgian offensive. Initially, Russia went as far as accusing Georgia of committing genocide against Ossetians, noting that Georgia codenamed their attack "Operation Clear Field"
The independent EU commission found no evidence for the alleged genocide and ruled the extension of operations into uncontested Georgia illegal. Russia codenamed its operation "Operation Forcing Georgia to peace".
South Ossetia's government in Tskhinvali said that it called for Russian help once the Georgian bombardment of their capital city, Tskhinvali, started, in order to prevent genocide and was relieved when the 58th Army intervened to assist against, what Ossetians called "the most frightful fire". A Latin American journalist, Raul Fajardo who was visiting South Ossetia, stated: "I am confident that if it had not been for Russia and the courage of the Ossetian soldiers who defended their homeland, mankind would have regretted today the genocide of the Ossetian people, the irretrievable loss of the people with a unique history, traditions and culture".
The South Ossetian government further called into question Georgia's assertion that Russian Forces were bombing Tskhinvali, because the South Ossetian Minister of Defence, Vasiliy Lunev, was in command of the Russian Army after the wounding of Russian General Anatoly Khrulyov. South Ossetia stated that Saakashvili's brutal attack on their country is simply a continuation of Georgia's aggressive behavior, demonstrated in the 1920s, the early 1990s and Saakashvili's feeble attempt in 2004.
In response to the war, Russia faced strong criticism from the US, the United Kingdom, Poland, Romania, Sweden and the Baltic states
.
American president George W. Bush
warned Russia: "Bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century." The US Embassy in Georgia, describing the Matthew Bryza
press-conference, called the war an "incursion by one of the world’s strongest powers to destroy the democratically elected government of a smaller neighbor".
Bloomberg reports that "George W. Bush’s national security team considered launching air strikes to halt the invasion" on the Roki Tunnel
that served as Russia’s main supply line and other targets on 11 August, but no official argued in favor of use of force. The meeting produced "a clear sense around the table that almost any military steps could lead to a confrontation with Moscow," according to Ronald D. Asmus
, former deputy assistant secretary of state in the Clinton
administration and present Brussels
office head of the German Marshall Fund
. Instead, Bush opted for a softer option, but one that carried an implicit threat: he chose to send humanitarian supplies to Georgia by military, rather than civilian, aircraft.
An independent report, commissioned by the Council of the European Union
, was prepared by a group of 30 European military, legal and history experts under the head of the Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini
. The report states that the war was started by the Georgian attack "that was not justified by international law". The report said the commission found no evidence for Georgia's claims of being invaded by Russia prior to launching an attack on South Ossetia, but confirmed that units of Russian regular troops, mercenaries, and volunteers had entered South Ossetia before the Georgian attack. However, the report said that Georgia's response was unjustified, and that Russia had a right to intervene in defense of its peacekeepers. The report, however, states that the Russian reaction to the Georgian attack was disproportionate, and found some actions on the Russian side to have been illegal, and found no evidence of an attempted genocide by Georgia against Ossetians, as claimed by Russia, but confirmed that Ossetian militia ethnically cleansed Georgians during and after the conflict, and noted that Russia failed to stop them. The report also claims that President Mikheil Saakashvili
ordered the attack despite warnings from the United States not to provoke military confrontation with Russia. Citing the report of Council of the European Union, it says "it was Georgia that triggered the war when it attacked Tskhinvali with heavy artillery on the night of 7 and 8 August 2008. None of the explanations given by the Georgian authorities in order to provide some form of legal justification for the attack offered a valid explanation. In particular, to the best of the mission's knowledge there was no massive Russian military invasion under way that had to be stopped by Georgian military forces shelling Tskhinvali.".
British Foreign Minister David Miliband
, after being informed of the Human Rights Watch
and BBC
findings of possible war crimes committed by Georgia, apparently hardened his language towards Georgia, calling its actions "reckless". But he also added that "the Russian response was reckless and wrong".
The president of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko
, said he intended to negotiate increasing the rent on the Russian naval base at Sevastopol in the Crimea
. A controversy arose over how Ukraine should respond to the Ossetia war, which contributed to the 2008 Ukrainian political crisis
.
France and Germany took an intermediate position, refraining from naming a culprit while calling for an end of hostilities.
Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Franco Frattini stated "We cannot create an anti-Russia coalition in Europe, and on this point we are close to Putin's position".
The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko
stated that "Russia acted calmly, wisely and beautifully". Lukashenko also offered to send 2,000 Ossetian children to Belorussian schools.
On 25 August 2008, the Federal Assembly of Russia
unanimously voted to urge President Medvedev to recognise
Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. On 26 August 2008, Medvedev agreed, signing a decree officially recognising the two entities, and in a televised address to the Russian people expressed his opinion that recognising the independence of the two republics "represents the only possibility to save human lives." Nicaragua
recognised the republics on 5 September 2008. In January 2009, Belarus
said it would make a decision on recognising South Ossetia and Abkhazia on 2 April, but the European Union demanded that Belarus not recognise the republics and threatened to cancel Belarus' invitation to its Eastern Partnership programme. According to Peter Rutland, the EU has rewarded the Belarusian President Lukashenko for his non-recognition of the republics by suspending the travel ban for top Belarusian officials that had been imposed in 2004.
The unilateral recognition by Russia was met by condemnation from NATO, the OSCE Chairman, the Presidency of the Council of the European Union
, the European Commission
, Foreign Ministers of the G7, and the government of Ukraine because of the violation of Georgia's territorial integrity, and United Nations Security Council resolutions
. Russia sought support for its recognition from the states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (the biggest members are Russia and China). However, because of concerns about their own separatist regions in states of the SCO, especially in China, the SCO did not back the recognition. According to Alexei Vlassov from Moscow State University
, even Russia's closest allies did not show any willingness to support Moscow.
On 10 September 2009 President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez
announced Venezuela
recognises Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states, making it a third UN member to support South Ossetian independence. On 15 December 2009 Nauru
recognized and established diplomatic relations with Abkhazia.
As of 2011, only six states have recognized Abkhazia and 5 states have recognized South Ossetia as sovereign states, respectively.
of its territory. In response to Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Georgian government announced that the country cut all diplomatic relations with Russia.
Russia
had already closed its embassy right after the beginning of 2008 South Ossetia war, before diplomatic relations between the two countries ended.
Independent media coverage and access to information were limited as the conflict continued to unfold. Cyber-warfare
fuelled claims of distributed denial of service, censorship
, propaganda
, and disinformation
from all sides, and restricted access for journalists made it difficult to verify the allegations. The Georgian government stopped translation of Russian TV channels and blocked access to Russian websites, during the war and its aftermath, limiting news coverage in Georgia. Georgian, Russian, South Ossetian, and Azerbaijani websites were attacked by hackers, causing a breakdown of local servers.
According to Nicolai N. Petro
, Professor of Politics at the University of Rhode Island
, Western media coverage of the war was biased at first, but became more balanced in November, 2008, when two OSCE officials Ryan Grist
and Stephen Young confirmed the Russian version of events — that the Georgian attack was unprovoked and indiscriminate. Professor Petro said that initial impressions conveyed by respected news outlets tend to linger on, even if the story later changes radically, and "it is therefore not surprising that American pundits and politicians continue to refer to the events of last August as 'Russian aggression,' even though subsequent reporting has debunked this as a myth."
with ships docking in Georgian ports, and, according to the U.S. Navy
, delivering humanitarian aid
. NATO stressed that the increased presence in the Black Sea was not related to the current tensions and that the vessels were conducting routine visits and carrying out pre-planned naval exercises.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev did not address NATO directly but questioned the claim that ships going to Georgia were only rendering humanitarian assistance and alleged delivery of military support. Russian General Anatoly Nogovitsyn reminded NATO of the limitations on the number of vessels allowed in the Black Sea, under the 1936 Montreux convention
, and warned Western nations against violating the Convention.
According to political analyst Vladimir Socor
, the United States maintained an uninterrupted naval presence in the Black Sea, which is constrained by the Montreux Convention's limitations on naval tonnage and the duration of naval visits, and rotated its ships in the Black Sea at intervals consistent with that convention.
, but when the fighting started the Georgian regulars went back to using AK-74
s and AK-47
s, the only weapons they trusted and had sufficient stocks of ammunition for. Israel
i companies supplied UAVs, night-vision equipment, anti-aircraft equipment, ammunition and electronic systems as well as advanced tactical training.
U.S. analysts mention that the air defense was "one of the few effective elements of the country's military" and credit the SA-11 Buk-1M with shooting down a Tupolev-22MR recon and contributing to the losses of the 3 Su-25s. The view was mirrored by independent Russian analysis and by Russia's deputy chief of General Staff, Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, who said the Russian-made Tor and Buk anti-aircraft missile systems that Georgia had bought from Ukraine were responsible for the downings of 4 Russian aircraft in the war. A Russian assessment reported by Roger McDermott found that Russian losses would have been significantly higher had the Georgians not abandoned a portion of their SAM systems in western Georgia. Georgia also possessed Israeli-made Spyder-SR short-range self-propelled anti-aircraft systems, according to some reports. The Georgian air defence early warning and command control tactical system was connected to a NATO Air Situation Data Exchange (ASDE) through Turkey
, allowing Georgia to receive data directly from the unified NATO air-defense system.
Georgia has said that its principal vulnerabilities, which proved decisive, were its comparative weakness to Russian air power and its inability to communicate effectively in combat. Konstantin Makienko of CAST saw inadequate pilot training as the main reason behind the low efficiency of Georgian air raids. The Georgian Air Force provided heavy air support in the opening hours, but played a minimal role throughout the rest of the conflict, though it managed to fly sorties against Russian forces until 11 August. According to Batu Kutelia, Georgia's first deputy defence minister, in the future Georgia will need a very sophisticated, multi-layered air-defense system to defend all its airspace. However, Western military officers who have experience working with Georgian military forces suggest that Georgia's military shortfalls were serious and too difficult to change merely by upgrading equipment. According to an article published in the New York Times on 3 September, "Georgia's Army fled ahead of the Russian Army's advance, turning its back and leaving Georgian civilians in the enemy's path. Its planes did not fly after the first few hours of contact. Its navy was sunk in the harbor, and its patrol boats were hauled away by Russian trucks on trailers."
Georgia's logistical preparations were poor and its units interfered with each other in the field. During the initial Georgian offensive, a well-executed Georgian attack captured most of Tskhinvali and South Ossetia, and special forces successfully ambushed the Russian advance column, but throughout the following days, Georgian forces were dislodged from South Ossetia by a fierce Russian and Ossetian counteroffensive, largely relying on artillery and air support. Georgian Naval Forces were defeated with the loss of a coast guard cutter during a naval skirmish off Abkhazia. During the Russian and Abkhaz offensive, Georgian forces only put up only minimal resistance before withdrawing, having inflicted and suffered light casualties. Communications systems failed in the mountains and had to be replaced by communication via mobile phones. Planning was similarly lacking. According to Giorgi Tavdgiridze, there were no calculations on how to block the Roki Tunnel, connecting North and South Ossetia. Furthermore, the arrival of 10,000 Georgian reservists to Gori on 9 August was poorly organized: not given specific targets, the reservists returned to Tbilisi on August 10. During Russian and Ossetian raids into Georgian territory, the Georgian Army offered no resistance, and retreated to defend Tbilisi. It left behind some of its military equipment, which was captured by the Russians. After Russian forces occupied Poti
, they sunk or towed away all naval boats still in harbor: The rest fled to Batumi
. According to their American trainers, the Georgian soldiers did not lack "warrior spirit", but were not ready for combat. Georgia lacked well-trained and educated officers in the higher ranks, and neither Saakashvili nor his Defence Minister Davit Kezerashvili had any military experience, and yet they both still commanded troops in battle.
performed poorly during the conflict. The communication systems used were obsolete, resulting in one case where the commander of the 58th army was reported to have communicated with his forces in the midst of combat via a satellite phone borrowed from a journalist. Due to the absence of satellite-targeting
, precision-guided munitions could not be used (US controlled GPS was unavailable since the war zone was blacked out). Furthermore, the Russian defense minister had failed to authorize the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, and an editorial in RIA Novosti said that Russian forces lacked dependable aerial reconnaissance systems, leading to the use of a Tupolev Tu-22M3 long-range bomber on a reconnaissance mission, where it was subsequently shot down, and all of its crewmembers were killed or captured. Nevertheless, most of the reconnaissance was performed by three Russian reconnaissance battalions, so the need to use a strategic bomber for it was questionable.
A total of three Russian aircraft were shot down during the war, and Georgian air defenses were only driven off or destroyed by ground attacks, as the air force was unable to suppress them. The Russian Air Force was never able to fully stop aerial attacks by the Georgian Air Force, which was still flying sorties against Russian troops on August 11. The RIA Novosti editorial also stated that Russian Su-25 ground attack jets still lacked radar sights, computers for calculating ground-target coordinates and long-range air-to-surface missiles that could be launched outside enemy air-defence areas. Opposition affiliated Russian analyst Konstantin Makienko pointed out the poor performance of the Russian Air Force: "It is totally unbelievable that the Russian Air Force was unable to establish air superiority almost to the end of the five-day war, despite the fact that the enemy had no fighter aviation."
After a close examination of the Russian Air Force's performance, Russian avionics expert Anton Lavrov pointed out that Russian MiG-29s established air superiority within a few hours of Russia's entry, and prevented the Georgian Air Force from supporting their assault on Tskhinvali. The Russians also flew 63 sorties on August 8, mostly by Su-25s when the Georgian Air Defense failed to shoot down a single Russian plane. According to Lavrov, Georgian air defenses failed to shoot down the three Russian Su-25s which were lost, claiming that they were lost to friendly fire, most likely either by "Igla" or "Strela" anti-air missiles. Lavrov asserts that the Tu-22M shot down was not used for scouting: On August 9, a wing of 4 Tu-22Ms completed their bombing run, and for unknown reasons descended from 16,000 to 4,000 meters, where one of them was shot down by a Georgian "Osa" AA missile. As a result, the Russians suspended all Tu-22M sorties for the rest of the war. Georgian air defenses shot down 2 Su-24s: One on August 9, by a Grom-2, another on August 11, by either an Igla or Strela.
There was also confusion surrounding the nature of the command relationship between the North Caucasus Military District commander and the Air Force. The Air Force operations were being directed by Air Force commander-in-chief Colonel-General Aleksandr Zelin
, who commanded the air forces from his office on his mobile phone, without entering the command post. He decided all matters related to the conduct of air operations and did not even consider it necessary to invite his air defense assistants to a meeting. Furthermore, the Air Force was accused of failing to support ground combat operations.
Commenting on the performance of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Swedish analysts Carolina Vendil Pallin and Fredrik Westerlund noted, that although the fleet never met any serious opposition, it still showed that it is a force to be reckoned with. Being able to plan and carry through manoeuvres of the size which were carried out during the war required considerable skills, according to the analysts.
American researchers working for the Heritage foundation praised the comprehensive and systematic planning of the Russian general staff, stating that, the operations "were well prepared and well executed" and that the Russian offensive achieved a strategic surprise. A Reuters analyst described Russia's army in light of the conflict as "strong but flawed." According to him, the war showed that Russia's "armed forces have emerged from years of neglect as a formidable fighting force, but revealed important deficiencies". The weaknesses, especially in missiles and air capability, leave Russia still lagging behind the image of a world-class military power it projects to the rest of the world. In contrast to the weak conscript soldiers used in Chechnya
, Russia's force in Georgia was largely composed of professional soldiers. Reuters reporters on the ground in Georgia saw disciplined, well-equipped troops. Ruslan Pukhov
, director of Russia's Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, stated that "the victory over the Georgian army should become for Russia not a cause for euphoria and excessive joy, but serve to speed up military transformations in Russia." Roger McDermott speculated that the (compared to earlier Russian conflicts) high level of criticism in the media after the conflict is part of "an orchestrated effort by the government to “sell” reform to the military and garner support among the populace."
However, the Russian Army's performance on the ground has come under scrutiny. Although the majority of soldiers deployed in the conflict zone were professionals, some were conscripts. General Vladimir Boldyrev
admitted in September 2008 that many of the professional soldiers were no better trained than conscripts. Some of the soldiers deployed were servicemen from special ethnic minorities' units, mostly Chechens from the Vostok and Zapad Battalions
. According to Georgian refugees, these servicemen showed little discipline or respect for the laws of war
. Much of the ground fighting was carried out by Russian Airborne Troops, who could not be airlifted behind Georgian lines due to the Russian Air Force's inability to suppress Georgian air defenses. The 58th Army's advance column, led by General Anatoly Khrulyov
, ran directly into a Georgian ambush as it entered South Ossetia on 9 August, due to poor intelligence. Only five of the thirty vehicles in the convoy survived, and the column took heavy casualties, including General Khrulyov himself, who was wounded in the leg. Many Russian ground units were insufficiently supplied with ammunition, which led to additional losses.
brigade
s, plus a fifth brigade in the process of formation. One artillery
brigade was stationed at Gori and Khoni and a tank battalion
was also stationed at Gori.
According to International Institute for Strategic Studies
, when the war started, the Georgians had amassed ten light infantry battalions of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th infantry brigades as well as special forces and an artillery brigade, in all, about 12,000 troops near the South Ossetian conflict zone. The 4th Brigade carried out the main mission of attempting to capture Tskhinvali, while the 2nd and 3rd Brigades provided support. Of all Georgian military units, the 4th Brigade suffered the heaviest casualties.
The 1st infantry brigade, the only one trained to a NATO level, served in Iraq at the start of the war. Two to three days later the U.S. Air Force airlifted it to Georgia, too late to take part in the Battle of Tskhinvali
.
Units Deployed:
" which ended only days earlier. Several of these soldiers were still in the country. The United States European Command, EUCOM, stated that neither participated in the conflict. The Russian side made allegations that at least one American citizen fought with Georgian forces, after producing an American passport claimed to be discovered in Georgian fighting positions. The authenticity of the passport was not contested. However, the passport owner
and the US authorities denied the claims, saying the passport was lost elsewhere.
58th Army is one of Russia’s premiere combat formations and boasts more than twice the number of troops, five times the number of tanks, ten times the number of armoured personnel carriers and twelve times the number of combat aircraft as the entire Georgian Armed Forces.
South Ossetian Sector
Initially Present (3,500):
Russian Peacekeeping Forces (1,100):
Arrived as reinforcements:
58th Army
42nd Motorised Rifle Division
Airborne Troops (VDV):
Units of GRU
:
Abkhazian Sector (Up to 9000 men):
Theatre aviation
analysts who believed that "Russia has largely destroyed Georgia's war-fighting capability". The Georgian Army lost 150 pieces of military equipment, much of it left behind during the Georgian Army's retreat from Gori and Poti. Out of its 250-strong tank force, 40 T-72s were either destroyed or captured after the ceasefire agreement. It also lost several units of its advanced air-defense systems, though its arsenal of hand-held anti-aircraft missiles remained largely intact. The Georgian Army also lost 1,728 small arms during the conflict. Three Georgian Navy vessels out of the 19 vessel-strong force were sunk in their harbour, Poti, after Russian forces occupied the city, while the rest of the Georgian Navy escaped to Batumi
, and a Georgian Coast Guard patrol cutter was sunk by Russian naval forces off the coast of Abkhazia. Nine rigid-hull inflatables were also towed away by the Russians. Russia estimated that the Georgian Air Force
lost three out of its nine Su-25 strike aircraft, two of its seven L-29 jet trainers, an AN-2 cargo plane, and four helicopters. Georgian Defence Minister Davit Kezerashvili stated that Georgia suffered losses of material worth $250 million. According to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili
, Georgia lost 5% of its military capabilities.
Following the war, the Georgian Army replaced its losses by purchasing large shipments of foreign military equipment, including tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery, firearms, ammunition, military vehicles, missiles, air defense weaponry, and telecommunications equipment, primarily from Ukraine
and Turkey. The Georgian Navy partially replaced its losses with patrol/fast attack boats from Turkey, and two of the vessels sunk in Poti
harbor were raised and returned to service. All operational naval units were merged with the Georgian Coast Guard. The Georgian Air Force purchased additional unmanned aerial vehicles and two helicopters from Turkey. In August 2010, the Georgian military budget stood at $400 million. The Georgian Armed Forces reached a strength greater than pre-war levels in 2009.
Russia has officially confirmed the loss of three Su-25 strike aircraft and one Tu-22M3 supersonic bomber. Analysts at Moscow Defense Brief give a higher estimate, saying that the overall losses of Russian Air Force in the war amounted to seven aircraft, while Anton Lavrov lists 6 Su-25s, 2 Su-24s and 1 Tu-22M as lost.
According to Nezavisimaya Gazeta
, figures from the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, compiled three days after the war in lieu of official data, place the cost of the five days of war at 12.5 billion rubles (then $508.7 million) for Russia. This includes the cost of the losses of four Russian aircraft which is thought to have been more than 44 million dollars. According to the estimate, no less than 1.2 billion rubles, (50.8 million dollars,) per day, went on fuel.
Russia On the situation around Abkhazia and South Ossetia @ President of Russia
International EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia EU Fact Finding Mission (Tagliavini report) United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia OSCE Mission to Georgia
Media War in Georgia. International Crisis Group
’s multimedia presentation BBC hub
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
in August 2008 between Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
on one side, and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and separatist
Separatism
Separatism is the advocacy of a state of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. While it often refers to full political secession, separatist groups may seek nothing more than greater autonomy...
governments of South Ossetia
South Ossetia
South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....
and Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
on the other.
The 1991–1992 South Ossetia War between ethnic Georgians and Ossetians had left slightly more than a half of South Ossetia under de-facto control of a Russian-backed internationally unrecognised
Diplomatic recognition
Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral political act with domestic and international legal consequences, whereby a state acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state...
government. Most ethnic Georgian
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
parts of South Ossetia remained under the control of Georgia (Akhalgori
Akhalgori
Akhalgori or Leningor is a town in South Ossetia, partially recognized republic in the South Caucasus, formerly the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic...
district, and most villages surrounding Tskhinvali
Tskhinvali
Tskhinvali , is the capital of South Ossetia, a disputed region which has been recognised as an independent Republic by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Nauru, and is regarded by Georgia and the rest of the world as part of the Shida Kartli region within Georgian sovereign territory.It is located...
), with Georgian, North Ossetian and Russian Joint peacekeeping force present in the territories. A similar situation existed in Abkhazia after the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993)
War in Abkhazia (1992–1993)
The War in Abkhazia from 1992 to 1993 was waged chiefly between Georgian government forces on one side and Abkhaz separatist forces supporting independence of Abkhazia from Georgia on the other side. Ethnic Georgians, who lived in Abkhazia fought largely on the side of Georgian government forces...
. Increasing tensions escalated during the summer months of 2008. On 5 August, Russia vowed to defend South Ossetia.
During the night of 7 to 8 August 2008, Georgia launched a large-scale military offensive against South Ossetia, in an attempt to reclaim the territory. Georgia claimed that it was responding to attacks on its peacekeepers and villages in South Ossetia, and that Russia was moving non-peacekeeping units into the country. The Georgian attack caused casualties among Russian peacekeepers, who resisted the assault along with Ossetian militia. Georgia successfully captured most of Tskhinvali within hours. Russia reacted by deploying units of the Russian 58th Army
58th Army (Russia)
The 58th Army is a field army; first of the Soviet Union's Red Army and subsequently of the Russian Ground Forces....
and Russian Airborne Troops in South Ossetia, and launching airstrikes against Georgian forces in South Ossetia and military and logistical targets in Georgia proper. Russia claimed these actions were a necessary humanitarian intervention
Humanitarian intervention
Humanitarian intervention "refers to a state using military force against another state when the chief publicly declared aim of that military action is ending human-rights violations being perpetrated by the state against which it is directed."...
and peace enforcement
Peace enforcement
Peace enforcement is a practice of ensuring peace in an area or region. Part of a three part scale between peacekeeping and peacemaking, it is sometimes considered to be the midpoint. Peace enforcement is different from peacemaking where options, possibly including force, are used to bring...
.
Russian and Ossetian troops battled Georgian forces throughout South Ossetia for four days, with the heaviest fighting taking place in Tskhinvali
Tskhinvali
Tskhinvali , is the capital of South Ossetia, a disputed region which has been recognised as an independent Republic by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Nauru, and is regarded by Georgia and the rest of the world as part of the Shida Kartli region within Georgian sovereign territory.It is located...
. On August 9, Russian naval forces blockaded a part of the Georgian coast and landed marines on the Abkhaz coast. The Georgian Navy attempted to intervene, but was defeated in a naval skirmish. Russian and Abkhaz forces
Military of Abkhazia
The Abkhazian Armed Forces is the military of Abkhazia.The Ministry of Defence and the General Staff of the Abkhazian armed forced were officially created on 12 October 1992, after the outbreak of the 1992-1993 war with Georgia. The basis of the armed forces was formed by the ethnic Abkhaz National...
opened a second front by attacking the Kodori Gorge
Battle of the Kodori Valley
The Battle of Kodori Valley was a military operation in the Upper Kodori Valley, during the 2008 South Ossetia war, the only part of Abkhazia, which remained under Georgian control after the War in Abkhazia from 1992 to 1993. Hostilities started, during the 2008 South Ossetia war, the Abkhazian...
, held by Georgia. Georgian forces put up only minimal resistance, and Russian forces subsequently raided military bases in western Georgia. After five days of heavy fighting in South Ossetia, the Georgian forces retreated, enabling the Russians to enter uncontested Georgia and occupy the cities of Poti
Poti
Poti is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near the site of the ancient Greek colony of Phasis, the city has become a major port city and industrial center since the early 20th century. It is also...
, Gori
Gori, Georgia
Gori is a city in eastern Georgia, which serves as the regional capital of Shida Kartli and the centre of the homonymous administrative district. The name is from Georgian gora , that is, "heap", or "hill"...
, Senaki
Senaki
Senaki is a town in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, western Georgia. It is located at around .From 1935 to 1976 it was called Tskhakaya in honor of the Georgian Bolshevik revolutionary leader Mikhail Tskhakaya....
, and Zugdidi
Zugdidi
Zugdidi is a city in the Western Georgian historical province of Samegrelo . It is situated in the north-west of that province. The city is located 318 kilometres west of Tbilisi, 30 km. from Black sea coast and 30 km. from Egrisi range. 100-110 metres above sea level. As of 2007, it had a...
.
Through mediation by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
presidency
President of the European Union
President of the European Union could be a reference to any of:* President of the European Council * President of the European Commission...
of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, the parties reached a preliminary ceasefire agreement on 12 August, signed by Georgia on 15 August in Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
and by Russia on 16 August in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. Several weeks after signing the ceasefire agreement, Russia began pulling most of its troops out of uncontested Georgia. Russia established buffer zones around Abkhazia and South Ossetia and created checkpoints in Georgia's interior. These forces were eventually withdrawn from uncontested Georgia. However some Western officials insist the troops did not return to the line where they were stationed prior to the beginning of hostilities as described in the peace plan. Russian forces remain stationed in Abkhazia and South Ossetia under bilateral agreements with the corresponding governments.
A number of incidents occurred in both conflict zones in the months after the war ended.
Background
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, South Ossetia operated as the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast
South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast
The South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast was an autonomous oblast of the Soviet Union created within the Georgian SSR on April 20, 1922. Its autonomy was revoked on December 10, 1990 by the Supreme Soviet of the Georgian SSR, leading to the First South Ossetian War...
, an autonomous region within the Georgian SSR. A military conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia broke out in January 1991 when Georgia sent troops to subdue a South Ossetian separatist movement. The separatists were helped by former Soviet military units, who by now had come under Russian command. Estimates of deaths in this fighting exceed 2,000 people. During the war several atrocities occurred on both sides. Approximately 100,000 Ossetians fled Georgia and South Ossetia, while 23,000 Georgians left South Ossetia. The war resulted in South Ossetia, which had a Georgian ethnic minority
Demographics of Georgia
The Demographics of Georgia is about the demographic features of the population of Georgia, including population growth, population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population....
of around 29% of the total population of 98,500 in 1989, breaking away from Georgia and gaining de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
independence. After the Sochi agreement
Sochi agreement
The Sochi agreement was a ceasefire agreement ostensibly marking the end of the both the Georgian–Ossetian and Georgian–Abkhazian conflicts, signed in Sochi on June 24, 1992 between Georgia and South Ossetia, the ceasefire with Abkhazia on...
in 1992, Tskhinvali was isolated from the Georgian territory around it and Russian, Georgian and South Ossetian peacekeepers
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
were stationed in South Ossetia under the Joint Control Commission's (JCC)
Joint Control Commission for Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Resolution
Joint Control Commission for Georgian–Ossetian Conflict Resolution is a peacekeeping tool, operating in South Ossetia and overseeing the joint peacekeeping forces in the region....
mandate of demilitarisation. The 1992 ceasefire also defined both a zone of conflict around the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali and a security corridor along the border of South Ossetian territories. This situation was mirrored in Abkhazia, an Autonomous Republic within Georgia in the USSR, where the Abkhazian minority seceded from Georgia in a war in the early 1990s
War in Abkhazia (1992–1993)
The War in Abkhazia from 1992 to 1993 was waged chiefly between Georgian government forces on one side and Abkhaz separatist forces supporting independence of Abkhazia from Georgia on the other side. Ethnic Georgians, who lived in Abkhazia fought largely on the side of Georgian government forces...
. Similar to South Ossetia, most of Abkhazia was controlled by an unrecognised government, while Georgia controlled other parts. In May 2008, there were about 2,000 Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia, and about 1,000 Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia under the JCC's mandate.
The conflict remained frozen until 2003 when Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian politician, the third and current President of Georgia and leader of the United National Movement Party.Involved in the national politics since 1995, Saakashvili became president on 25 January 2004 after President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned in a November 2003...
came to power in Georgia's Rose Revolution
Rose Revolution
The "Revolution of Roses" was a change of power in Georgia in November 2003, which took place after having widespread protests over the disputed parliamentary elections...
, which ousted president Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze is a former Soviet, and later, Georgian statesman from the height to the end of the Cold War. He served as President of Georgia from 1995 to 2003, and as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party , from 1972 to 1985. Shevardnadze was responsible for many top decisions on...
. In the years that followed, Saakashvili's government pushed a programme to strengthen failing state institutions, including security and military, created "passably democratic institutions" and implemented what many viewed as a pro-US foreign policy. One of Saakashvili's main goals has been Georgian NATO membership, which Russia opposes. This has been one of the main stumbling blocks in Georgia-Russia relations. In 2007, Georgia spent 6% of GDP on its military and had the highest average growth rate of military spending in the world. In 2008, Georgia's defence budget was $1bn, a third of all government spending. Restoring South Ossetia and Abkhazia to Georgian control has been seen as a top-priority goal of Saakashvili since he came to power. Opposition members have criticised Saakashvili of having authoritarian tendencies. During Saakashvili's rule, human rights organizations such as Freedom House
Freedom House
Freedom House is an international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...
downgraded Georgia's democracy ranking. The Freedom House ranking moved lower than it was under President Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze is a former Soviet, and later, Georgian statesman from the height to the end of the Cold War. He served as President of Georgia from 1995 to 2003, and as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party , from 1972 to 1985. Shevardnadze was responsible for many top decisions on...
.
Emboldened by the success in restoring control in Adjara
Adjara
Adjara , officially the Autonomous Republic of Adjara , is an autonomous republic of Georgia.Adjara is located in the southwestern corner of Georgia, bordered by Turkey to the south and the eastern end of the Black Sea...
in early 2004, the Georgian government launched a push to retake South Ossetia, sending 300 special task-force fighters into the territory. Georgia stated that the operation aimed to combat smuggling, but JCC participants branded the move as a breach of the Sochi agreement
Sochi agreement
The Sochi agreement was a ceasefire agreement ostensibly marking the end of the both the Georgian–Ossetian and Georgian–Abkhazian conflicts, signed in Sochi on June 24, 1992 between Georgia and South Ossetia, the ceasefire with Abkhazia on...
of 1992. Intense fighting took place between Georgian forces and South Ossetian militia between 8 and 19 August 2004. According to researcher Sergei Markedonov
Sergei Markedonov
Sergey Miroslavovich Markedonov is Director of the Department for Problems of Ethnic Relations at the Institute for Political and Military Analysis in Moscow. He has received degrees in history and education from Rostov-on-Don State University and Rostov-on-Don State Pedagogical University, and...
, the brief war in 2004 was a turning point for Russian policy in the region: Russia, which had previously aimed only to preserve the status-quo, now felt that the security of the whole Caucasus depended on the situation in South Ossetia, and took the side of the self-proclaimed republic. In 2006 Georgia sent
2006 Kodori crisis
The 2006 Kodori crisis erupted in late July 2006 in Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge, when a local militia leader declared his opposition to the Government of Georgia, which sent police forces to disarm the rebels...
police and security forces to the Kodori Gorge in eastern Abkhazia, when a local militia leader there had rebelled against the Georgian authorities. The presence of Georgian forces in the Kodori Gorge continued until the war in 2008.
In the 2006 South Ossetian independence referendum
South Ossetian independence referendum, 2006
South Ossetia, an independent partially recognized republic in the South Caucasus, formerly the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic with its capital in Tskhinvali, held a referendum on independence on November 12, 2006...
, 99% of those voting supported full independence. Simultaneously, ethnic Georgians voted just as emphatically to stay with Tbilisi in a referendum among the region's ethnic Georgians. Georgia accused Russia of the annexation
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
of its internationally recognised territory and of installing a puppet government led by Eduard Kokoity
Eduard Kokoity
Eduard Dzhabeyevich Kokoity is the de facto President of South Ossetia.-Early life:Eduard Kokoity was born on 31 October 1964 in Tskhinvali, in the Georgian SSR, a part of the Soviet Union at the time. Kokoity was a member, and champion, of the Soviet Union's national wrestling team...
and by several officials who had previously served in the Russian FSB
FSB (Russia)
The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation is the main domestic security agency of the Russian Federation and the main successor agency of the Soviet Committee of State Security . Its main responsibilities are counter-intelligence, internal and border security, counter-terrorism, and...
and in the Army
Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...
. From 2004 to 2008, Georgia has repeatedly proposed broad autonomy for Abkhazia and South Ossetia within the unified Georgian state, but the proposals have been rejected by the secessionist authorities, who demanded full independence for the territory. In 2006, the Georgian government set up what Russians said was a puppet government led by the former South Ossetian prime minister Dmitry Sanakoyev
Dmitry Sanakoyev
Dmitry Ivanovich Sanakoyev is a South Ossetian and Georgian politician, a former official in the secessionist government of South Ossetia and currently Head of the Provisional Administration of South Ossetia, a rival entity established in 2007 in the Georgian-controlled territories of this...
and granted to it a status of a provisional administration, alarming Tskhinvali and Moscow.
In what Sergei Markedonov has described as the culmination of Georgian "unfreezing" policy, the control of the Georgian peacekeeping battalion was transferred from the joint command of the peacekeeping forces to the Georgian Defence Ministry.
In 1989, Ossetians accounted for around 60 percent, Georgians 20 percent, Armenians 10 percent and Russians 5 percent of the population of South Ossetia. about 87.5% of the population of South Ossetia have acquired Russian citizenship, as a result of being Soviet Citizens (Russia extended citizenship to most USSR citizens, as it is internationally recognised as a successor state to the USSR). Additionally, 71% of all Ossetians were living in Russia, most of them just across the Roki Tunnel
Roki Tunnel
The Roki Tunnel is a mountain tunnel of the Transkam road through the Greater Caucasus Mountains, north of the village Upper Roka. It is the only road joining North Ossetia-Alania in the Russian Federation into South Ossetia, a breakaway republic of Georgia...
in North Ossetia, and had family members in South Ossetia. From the viewpoint of Russian constitutional law
Russian constitution
Russian constitution* Constitution of Russia* Russian Constitution of 1906* Russian Constitution of 1918* Russian Constitution of 1978* Judiciary of Russia...
, the legal position of Russian passport holders in South Ossetia is the same as that of Russian citizens living in Russia. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stated that he would "protect the life and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are". According to an EU report, this position is inconsistent with international law, which considers the vast majority of purportedly naturalised persons as not Russian citizens. According to Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
, prior to the war Russia was supplying two thirds of South Ossetia's annual budget, and Russia's state-controlled gas giant Gazprom
Gazprom
Open Joint Stock Company Gazprom is the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and the largest Russian company. Its headquarters are in Cheryomushki District, South-Western Administrative Okrug, Moscow...
was building new gas pipelines and infrastructure worth hundreds of millions of dollars to supply South Ossetian cities with energy. Moreover, Russian officials already had de facto control over South Ossetia's institutions, including security institutions and security forces, and South Ossetia's de facto government was largely staffed with Russian representatives and South Ossetians with Russian passports who had previously worked in equivalent government positions in Russia. In mid-April, 2008, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Russian PM
Prime Minister of Russia
The Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation The use of the term "Prime Minister" is strictly informal and is not allowed for by the Russian Constitution and other laws....
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
had given instructions to the federal government whereby Russia would pursue economic, diplomatic, and administrative relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia as with the subjects of Russia
Federal subjects of Russia
Russia is a federation which, since March 1, 2008, consists of 83 federal subjects . In 1993, when the Constitution was adopted, there were 89 federal subjects listed...
. When President Saakashvili was re-elected in early 2008, he promised to bring the breakaway regions back under Georgian control.
Georgia Train and Equip Program
The Georgia Train and Equip Program was an American-sponsored 18-month, $64-million program aimed at increasing the capabilities of the Georgian armed forces by training and equipping four 600-man battalions with light weapons, vehicles and communications...
me to arm and train the Georgian military, and, in 2005, a Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program
Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program
The Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program was a security assistance program designed to create an increased capability in the Georgian military to support Operation Iraqi Freedom stability missions...
me to broaden capabilities of the Georgian armed forces. These programmes involved training by the United States Army Special Forces
United States Army Special Forces
The United States Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets because of their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force tasked with six primary missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, hostage rescue, and...
, United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, and military advisors personnel.
Although Georgia has no significant oil or gas reserves of its own, its territory hosts part of the important Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline transit route that supplies western and central Europe. The pipeline, supplied by oil from Azerbaijan's Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli
Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli
Azeri–Chirag–Guneshli is a large complex of oil fields in the Caspian Sea, about off the coast of Azerbaijan. An overall estimated area of the field is . It is operated by a BP-led consortium. The ACG fields have estimated recoverable reserves of about of petroleum...
oil field
Oil field
An oil field is a region with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum from below ground. Because the oil reservoirs typically extend over a large area, possibly several hundred kilometres across, full exploitation entails multiple wells scattered across the area...
transports 1 Moilbbl of oil per day. It has been a key factor for the United States' support for Georgia, allowing the West to reduce its reliance on Middle Eastern oil while bypassing Russia and Iran.
Military buildup
In the same month Russia increased the number of its military peacekeepers in Abkhazia to 2,542 by deploying hundreds of paratroopers into the region. Even after the increase, troop levels still remained within the 3,000 limit imposed by a 1994 decision of CIS
CIS
CIS usually refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States, a modern political entity consisting of eleven former Soviet Union republics.The acronym CIS may also refer to:-Organizations:...
heads of state. Sergey Lavrov said that his country was not preparing for war but would "retaliate" against any attack.
On 16 April Russia's president Vladimir Putin signed a decree authorising direct official relations between Russian government bodies and the secessionist authorities in Georgia's Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The move further heightened tensions between Russia and Georgia.
On 20 April, a Russian jet shot down a Georgian reconnaissance drone
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
flying over Abkhazia.
After the incident Saakashvili deployed 12,000 Georgian troops to Senaki. Georgian interior ministry officials showed the BBC video footage, which Georgia said showed Russian troops deploying heavy military hardware in the breakaway region of Abkhazia. According to Georgia, "it proved the Russians were a fighting force, not just peacekeepers." Russia strongly denied the accusations. Both countries also accused each other of flying jets over South Ossetia, violating the ceasefire.
From July to early August, Georgia and Russia conducted two parallel military exercises, the joint US-Georgian Immediate Response 2008
Immediate Response 2008
According to United States European Command,Immediate Response is an annual, bilateral security cooperation exercise conducted between U.S. and NATO and coalition partners...
and the Russian Caucasus Frontier 2008
Caucasus Frontier 2008
Caucasus Frontier 2008 were military exercises conducted by Russia starting July 5th 2008. The active phase was during the second week of July....
. According to a paper published by Institute for Security and Development Policy
Institute for Security and Development Policy
The Institute for Security and Development Policy is a Stockholm-based independent and non-profit research and policy institute. The institute examines international affairs through the lens of conflict, security, and regional development, with a primary geographic focus on Europe and Asia...
shortly after the war, the Russian troops remained by the Georgian border instead of returning to their bases after the end of their exercise on 2 August. After the war, Major General Vyacheslav Borisov
Vyacheslav Borisov
Vyacheslav Nikolaevich Borisov is a Russian major-general of the 2008 South Ossetian War.-Early life and Career:Borisov was born in Ruza, near Moscow, during the rule of the Soviet Union...
and commander of the 76th Airborne Division
76th Airborne Division (Russia)
The 76th Guards Air Assault Division is a division of the Russian Airborne Troops based in Pskov.-History:The 76th Air Assault Division was originally established in 1939 as the 157th Rifle Division. On 1 March 1943 it became the 76th Guards Rifle Division...
praised the exercises in the region as one of the reasons why his unit performed well in the war. The Georgian 4th Brigade, which later spearheaded the attack into Tskhinvali, took part in the Georgian exercise along with 1,000 American troops. This caused Russia to accuse the United States of helping Georgian attack preparations. After the exercise, the Georgian Artillery Brigade, normally based in two locations, in Senaki and in Gori, was now moved completely to Gori, 25 km (16 mi) from the South Ossetian border. According to Colonel Wolfgang Richter, a leading military adviser to the German OSCE mission, Georgia concentrated troops along the South Ossetian border in July.
On 5 August, Russian ambassador-at-large Yuri Popov reiterated the Russian position that his country would intervene in the event of military conflict. The Ambassador of South Ossetia to Moscow, Dmitry Medoyev
Dmitry Medoyev
Dmitry Nikolayevich Medoyev , born 15 May 1960, is the Ambassador of South Ossetia to the Russian Federation. Previous to recognition of South Ossetian independence by Russia on 26 August 2008, he was the secessionist envoy to Moscow for the Republic of South Ossetia...
, declared that volunteers were already arriving, primarily from North Ossetia, in the region of South Ossetia to offer help in the event of Georgian aggression.
According to Moscow Defense Brief
Moscow Defense Brief
Moscow Defense Brief is a bimonthly English-language defense magazine published by Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies , an independent defense think-tank.- Overview :...
, an English-language defence magazine published by the Russian NGO, Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies
Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies
The Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies is an independent, noncommercial, nongovernmental organization, which carries out research and analysis on Russian conventional arms trade and defense trends both nationally and internationally...
, the Georgians "appear to have secretly concentrated a significant number of troops and equipment to the South Ossetian border in early August, under the cover of providing support for the exchange of fire with South Ossetian formations". The Georgian forces included the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Infantry Brigades, the Artillery Brigade, elements of the 1st Infantry Brigade, and the separate Gori Tank Battalion, plus special forces and Ministry of the Internal Affairs troops — as many as 16,000 men, according to the publication. International Institute for Strategic Studies
International Institute for Strategic Studies
The International Institute for Strategic Studies is a British research institute in the area of international affairs. It describes itself as "the world’s leading authority on political-military conflict"...
and Western intelligence experts give a lower estimate, saying that the Georgians had amassed about 12,000 troops and 75 tanks on the South Ossetian border by 7 August. On the opposite side, there were said to be 1,000 Russian peacekeepers and 500 South Ossetian fighters
Military of South Ossetia
The Military of South Ossetia is the military of the breakaway republic of South Ossetia, whose independence is recognized by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Nauru but whom Georgia considers to be a Russian-Occupied Territory...
defending Tskhinvali, according to an estimate quoted by Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
.
Pre-war clashes
On June 14 into the early morning of June 15, clashes erupted in South Ossetia. South Ossetian authorities reported that Georgian forces started shelling Tskhinvali with mortars from Georgian villages, and that Georgians fired on South Ossetian militia on the outskirts of Tskhinvali. Georgia claimed that it was responding to Ossetian shelling of the Georgian villages of Ergneti, NikoziNikozi
Nikozi is a village in central Georgia near the Russian peacemakers' and south Ossetian military forces' check-point. It is the birthplace of Patriarch Kyrion II of Georgia....
, and Prisi. Two people (one Ossetian and one Georgian) were killed, and four were injured in the clashes. Several houses in the Georgian villages shelled were also reportedly damaged. A fourteen-year-old boy was also injured by a land mine close to Ergneti, and subsequently died of his injuries. In early July 2008, violence again erupted throughout South Ossetia. On July 3, Ossetian militia attacked a convoy in an attempt to assassinate Dmitry Sanakoyev
Dmitry Sanakoyev
Dmitry Ivanovich Sanakoyev is a South Ossetian and Georgian politician, a former official in the secessionist government of South Ossetia and currently Head of the Provisional Administration of South Ossetia, a rival entity established in 2007 in the Georgian-controlled territories of this...
, chairman of the Georgian-backed Ossetian government (the Provisional Administrative Entity of South Ossetia
Provisional Administrative Entity of South Ossetia
The Provisional Administration of South Ossetia is a government in exile that Georgia recognizes as the legal government of South Ossetia, although Georgia doesn't recognizes existence of South Ossetia as administrative entity....
). The attack failed to kill Sanakoyev, but injured three of his bodyguards. A South Ossetian police official was killed by a bomb attack on that same day. On July 9, four Russian Air Force
Russian Air Force
The Russian Air Force is the air force of Russian Military. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota , or AV-MF).The Air Force was formed from...
jets performed a mission over South Ossetia to dissuade the Georgian Air Force
Georgian Air Force
The Georgian Air Force is the air arm of the Georgian Armed Forces. Currently, it has 2,971 military and civilian personnel, fixed wing aircraft , helicopters of different types and air defense missiles of the "surface-to-air" class. The Air Force was founded in 1991 in the wake of the break-up...
from continuing UAV patrols in Ossetian airspace. Throughout July, a series of bomb blasts also targeted Georgian police patrols, the most serious being a July 31 bomb attack against a Georgian police SUV, wounding six police officers. Ossetian militia repeatedly fired on Georgian villages in South Ossetia, forcing Georgian police to return fire. On August 1, in the worst violence in years, clashes and shelling erupted between the Georgian and Ossetian forces. Casualties totalled 11 dead and 21 injured. Five of the dead were Ossetian militiamen, and another was a Russian peacekeeper from North Ossetia-Alania
North Ossetia-Alania
The Republic of North Ossetia–Alania is a federal subject of Russia . Its population according to the 2010 Census was 712,877.-Name:...
. They had been killed by Georgian snipers using large-caliber sniper rifles. Five Georgians were also killed in the fighting. Each side accused the other of firing first. During the week, the fighting intensified. On 3 August, the Russian foreign ministry warned that an extensive military conflict was about to erupt. According to a Der Spiegel article, officials in European governments and intelligence agencies assumed that the warning concerned Saakashvili's plans for an invasion of South Ossetia, plans which had been completed earlier. Three days later, the evacuation of Ossetian women and children to Russia was completed, as some 35,000 people were successfully evacuated. Starting with the night of 6–7 August there were continuous exchanges of artillery fire between both sides. On August 6, Georgia reported that Ossetian militia had destroyed a Georgian Army APC in Avnevi
Avnevi
Avnevi is a small village in South Ossetia, a region of Georgia who's sovereignty is disputed. Avnevi is located 873 meters above sea level and 109 kilometers from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi....
, wounding three Georgian peacekeepers.
At 2 p.m. on 7 August the Georgian peacekeeping checkpoint in Avnevi
Avnevi
Avnevi is a small village in South Ossetia, a region of Georgia who's sovereignty is disputed. Avnevi is located 873 meters above sea level and 109 kilometers from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi....
was reportedly shelled, killing two Georgian peacekeepers. At around 2:30 p.m. Georgia mobilized tanks, 122mm howitzers, and 203mm self-propelled artillery guns in the direction of the administrative border of South Ossetia. In the late afternoon OSCE monitors confirmed the move of Georgian artillery and Grad
BM-21
The BM-21 launch vehicle , a Soviet truck-mounted 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, and a M-21OF rocket were developed in the early 1960s. BM stands for boyevaya mashina, ‘combat vehicle’, and the nickname means ‘hail’. The complete system with the BM-21 launch vehicle and the M-21OF rocket...
rocket launchers massing on roads north of Gori. At 2:42 p.m. Georgia withdrew its personnel from the JPKF Headquarters in Tskhinvali. Georgian peacekeeping troops in South Ossetia also began evacuating their posts.
At 4 p.m. Temur Yakobashvili, the Georgian Minister of Reintegration, arrived in Tskhinvali for a previously-agreed meeting with South Ossetians in the presence of chief Russian negotiator over South Ossetia, Yuri Popov. The Ossetians did not show up — a day before, the South Ossetian side refused to participate in bilateral talks, demanding a JCC
Joint Control Commission for Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Resolution
Joint Control Commission for Georgian–Ossetian Conflict Resolution is a peacekeeping tool, operating in South Ossetia and overseeing the joint peacekeeping forces in the region....
session (consisting of Georgia, Russia, North and South Ossetia) instead, but Tbilisi had withdrawn from the JCC in March, demanding the format include also the EU, the OSCE and the Provisional Administrative Entity of South Ossetia
Provisional Administrative Entity of South Ossetia
The Provisional Administration of South Ossetia is a government in exile that Georgia recognizes as the legal government of South Ossetia, although Georgia doesn't recognizes existence of South Ossetia as administrative entity....
. Yakobashvili confirmed that Tskhinvali was already largely evacuated: "Nobody was in the streets — no cars, no people". He met with the Russian commander of the Joint Peacekeeping Force (JPKF), General Marat Kulakhmetov
Marat Kulakhmetov
Marat Minyurovich Kulakhmetov is a Major General of the Russian Army and commander of the Combined Peacekeeping Forces in South Ossetia, a breakaway region of Georgia...
, who stated that the Russian peacekeepers cannot stop Ossetian attacks and advised the Georgians to declare a ceasefire.
At about 7 p.m., President Saakashvili ordered a unilateral ceasefire, advised earlier that day by Kulakhmetov. The ceasefire held for a few hours and was also observed by the South Ossetian side, until firing was reportedly resumed again at around 10 p.m. Georgian armor continued to move to the South Ossetian line even during Saakashvili's ceasefire, and the Russian and Ossetian governments claimed that the ceasefire was "just an attempt to buy time" while Georgian forces positioned themselves for a major attack. According to the Jamestown Foundation, attacks on Georgian villages intensified following Saakashvili's address. Avnevi
Avnevi
Avnevi is a small village in South Ossetia, a region of Georgia who's sovereignty is disputed. Avnevi is located 873 meters above sea level and 109 kilometers from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi....
was almost completely destroyed, Tamarasheni
Tamarasheni
Tamarasheni is a former village in Georgia, within the territory controlled by separatist South Ossetia, some 0.5 km north of Tskhinvali....
and Prisi were shelled, and a police station in Kurta
Kurta, Georgia
Kurta was a village in the former South Ossetian autonomous oblast of Georgia. Populated largely by ethnic Georgians, it is one of those areas that remained under the control of Georgia since the rest of the region separated de facto from Georgia after the South Ossetian War of 1990-92 and till...
(seat of the Provisional Administrative Entity of South Ossetia
Provisional Administrative Entity of South Ossetia
The Provisional Administration of South Ossetia is a government in exile that Georgia recognizes as the legal government of South Ossetia, although Georgia doesn't recognizes existence of South Ossetia as administrative entity....
) was destroyed by shelling. Civilian refugees began fleeing the villages. The Georgian Interior Ministry reported that ten Georgian soldiers had been killed in clashes throughout August 7.
During a news broadcast that began at 11 p.m., Saakashvili announced that ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia were being shelled. Georgia announced that it was launching an operation to "restore constitutional order" as a response to the shelling. An OSCE monitoring group in Tskhinvali did not record outgoing artillery fire from the South Ossetian side in the hours before the start of Georgian bombardment. Two British OSCE observers reported hearing only occasional small-arms fire, but no shelling. According to Der Spiegel, NATO officials attested that minor skirmishes had taken place, but nothing that amounted to a provocation.
According to Georgian intelligence and several Russian sources, parts of 58th Russian Army moved to South Ossetian territory through the Roki Tunnel before the Georgian attack.
In his interview to the CNN, answering to the anchor's question, "Did you take a gamble? Your government launched its own attempt to retake South Ossetia, guess 24 hour ago?" Saakashvili answered "We did not. [Only when Russian APCs crossed the border at 24 AM, August 7] we had to fire back the artillery, we had to take measures. Because it was a clear-cut case of intervention."
However, no conclusive evidence was presented by Georgia or its Western supporters that Russia was invading the country before the Georgian attack, according to the New York Times. Instead, "the accounts suggest that Georgia’s inexperienced military attacked the isolated separatist capital of Tskhinvali on 7 August with indiscriminate artillery and rocket fire, exposing civilians, Russian peacekeepers and unarmed monitors to harm". Georgia's claim to be responding to a premeditated Russian assault received little support from the US and NATO.
Evening of 7 August
Half an hour later, Georgian forces began a major artillery bombardment on heights surrounding Tskhinvali and several villages. Several other villages were more lightly shelled. The Georgians used 27 rocket launchers, including BM-21 Grad and LAR-160
LAR-160
The LAR-160 is a light artillery rocket with a 160mm calibre and a range of 45 km, from a multiple rocket launcher.It is manufactured by Israel Military Industries...
units. Georgian forces also used 152mm heavy self-propelled gun
Self-propelled gun
A self-propelled gun is form of self-propelled artillery, and in modern use is usually used to refer to artillery pieces such as howitzers....
s and cluster bomb
Cluster bomb
A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller sub-munitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill enemy personnel and destroy vehicles...
s. At 11:45 p.m. OSCE monitors reported that shells were falling on Tskhinvali every 15–20 seconds.
The Georgians claimed that they were targeting Ossetian militia positions. According to numerous witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, including Ossetian militiamen, South Ossetian forces were present in Tskhinvali and neighboring villages. In Tskhinvali, they set up headquarters and defensive positions inside some civilian infrastructure. Such locations included the South Ossetian parliament building, as well as several schools and nurseries, which were hit by Georgian artillery fire. In the numerous villages which were shelled, positions of Ossetian militia were in close proximity to civilian homes. Georgia claimed that the BM-21 Grad rockets employed were used solely to shell South Ossetian artillery positions.
Battle of Tskhinvali
Battle of Tskhinvali
The Battle of Tskhinvali was a fight for the city of Tskhinvali, capital of South Ossetia. It was the only major battle in the 2008 South Ossetia War. Georgian ground troops entered the city on early 8 August 2008, after an extensive artillery barrage. Their advance was stopped by South Ossetian...
, codenamed Operation Clear Field to capture Tskhinvali. According to the EU fact-finding mission, 10,000 –11,000 soldiers took part in the general Georgian offensive in South Ossetia. The Georgian 4th Brigade from Vaziani
Vaziani Military Base
The Vaziani Military Base is located about twenty kilometers outside Tbilisi at Latitude 41.6947 Longitude 45.0467, Georgia. The main base is spread over 10,000 hectares....
spearheaded the infantry attack, while the 2nd and 3rd Brigades attacked important heights, from which they were to move forward and seize the Didi Gupta bridge and numerous roads leading from the Roki Tunnel, in order to block a Russian counterattack. The 2nd and 3rd Brigades seized several strategic South Ossetian villages located on higher ground around the city. After securing the heights around Tskhinvali, Georgian Interior Ministry commandos, supported by Sukhoi Su-25
Sukhoi Su-25
The Sukhoi Su-25 is a single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by the Sukhoi Design Bureau. It was designed to provide close air support for the Soviet Ground Forces. The first prototype made its maiden flight on 22 February 1975...
strike aircraft, artillery, tanks, and Otokar Cobra
Otokar Cobra
The Cobra is a wheeled armoured vehicle developed by Turkish firm Otokar, using some components from the American HMMWV. It was first delivered to the Turkish Army in 1997 and most recently, won a contract from a buyer for APV and 4X4 unarmored tactical vehicles.-Survivability:The monocoque steel...
armored vehicles, entered the city. South Ossetian sources claimed that a Georgian tank attack on the suburbs of the city was repelled by South Ossetian militia at 3:46 AM. According to Ossetian sources, Georgian Su-25 planes bombed the village of Kvernet. Ossetian forces claimed to have downed one Georgian Su-25 bomber early on August 8.
According to Russian sources, Georgian troops had captured the Southern Base of the Russian peacekeepers by 11:00 a.m. Georgian forces then sent in armored units to smash resistance offered by Russian peacekeepers and Ossetian militia. Russian peacekeepers repelled five Georgian assaults and continued to engage Georgian forces, losing 2 dead and 5 wounded. During the fighting, three Georgian T-72
T-72
The T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered production in 1970. It is developed directly from Obyekt-172, and shares parallel features with the T-64A...
tanks destroyed several Russian BMP-2
BMP-2
The BMP-2 is a second-generation, amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following the BMP-1 of the 1960s....
vehicles, and Russian forces returned fire, disabling one tank and forcing the other two back. According to Georgia, Georgian forces attacked Russian peacekeepers in self-defense after coming under fire from their bases.
At around 12:15 a.m, Georgian tanks and artillery shelled the barracks of the Russian peacekeepers, killing 10 soldiers. The peacekeepers' cafeteria was completely destroyed, and all of their buildings went up in flames.
Georgian shelling left parts of the capital city in ruins. The shelling of the city was extensively covered by Russian media prior to the military counteroffensive that followed. Russia claimed to have responded to an attack on the peacekeepers base and in defense of South Ossetian civilians against what they called "a genocide by Georgian forces".
South Ossetian and Russian authorities claimed that the civilian casualties in Tskhinvali may amount up to 2,000. These high casualty figures were later revised down to 162 casualties.
By 8 am. on 8 August, Georgian infantry and tanks had entered Tskhinvali and engaged in a fierce battle with Ossetian militia and the Russian peacekeeping battalion stationed in the city. Georgian forces entered particular parts of the city, located Ossetian positions, and then pulled back and called in artillery and airstrikes on identified enemy positions. Georgian snipers fired on Ossetian militia in support, and according to Ossetian sources, indiscriminately shot civilians, including people outside the city hospital. Georgian troops burned down the South Ossetian Presidential Palace, Ministry of Culture, and Parliament. A number of apartment blocks were set ablaze, and the streets were pocketed with numerous bomb craters. A Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
reporter claimed that while some neighborhoods were intact, "there were patches of terrible destruction".
Russian artillery took positions in the north of the city and opened fire on Georgian forces, and the Russian Air Force began flying sorties against Georgian targets early on 8 August, utilizing Su-24, Su-25, Su-27, and Tu-22M aircraft, hitting Georgian armored columns and artillery positions. Georgian forces abandoned two T-72 tanks, along with some armored vehicles and pieces of equipment after a Russian Su-25 airstrike killed 20 soldiers and wounded more. During the early stages of the battle, three Russian Sukhoi Su-25 planes were shot down by Georgian anti-aircraft fire. A Russian Tupolev Tu-22M
Tupolev Tu-22M
The Tupolev Tu-22M is a supersonic, swing-wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Soviet Union. Significant numbers remain in service with the Russian Air Force....
was also shot down by Georgian air defenses. Three of its crew members were killed, and another was taken prisoner. According to some reports, two other Russian jets were shot down by friendly fire. According to Georgian officials, 1,500 Georgian ground troops had reached the centre of Tskhinvali by 10 a.m. on 8 August, but were pushed back three hours later by Russian artillery and air attacks. By the afternoon, the Georgians had captured most of Tskhinvali, but were unable to take the northern quarters, where they were meeting heavy resistance from Ossetian militia and Russian troops, including regular Russian forces arriving from the Roki Tunnel. The Georgian 2nd and 3rd Brigades also ran into resistance, and were unable to take the Didi Gupta Bridge and the main routes leading to the Roki Tunnel. A Georgian air attack against the Didi Gupta bridge also failed to destroy it.
The BBC reported that Georgia may have committed war crimes during its attack on Tskhinvali, including possible deliberate targeting of civilians. Human Rights Watch found some evidence of firing being directed into basements, locations which civilians frequently choose as a place of shelter.
Ossetian militia and armed civilian volunteers engaged the Georgians in heavy street fighting, mainly utilizing ambushes. South Ossetian reinforcements passed from Dzhava on the Zara highway and entered Tskhinvali, carrying with them anti-tank weapons which proved successful in fighting Georgian armor. Three Georgian T-72 tanks were destroyed in the city centre of Tskhinvali by Ossetian forces utilizing RPG-7
RPG-7
The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...
anti-tank rockets. Two other Georgian tanks were abandoned on the Zars road, and were subsequently detonated by Russian troops. Ossetian military and civilian casualties mounted, and the operating room at Tskhinvali hospital was relocated to the basement. According to the hospital's head surgeon, about 700 operations were performed by candlelight. As blood supplies were low, many doctors donated their own blood before performing surgery. Priority was given to treating lightly injured Ossetian militiamen, so that they could rejoin the street fighting, only a few blocks away. The hospital itself was repeatedly hit by shelling, and 25 of the staff were killed or wounded.
According to Georgia, Russian military aircraft violated Georgian airspace around 10 a.m. on 8 August. Starting around 2 p.m., international press agencies began running reports of Russian tanks in the Roki tunnel
Roki Tunnel
The Roki Tunnel is a mountain tunnel of the Transkam road through the Greater Caucasus Mountains, north of the village Upper Roka. It is the only road joining North Ossetia-Alania in the Russian Federation into South Ossetia, a breakaway republic of Georgia...
. According to a senior Russian official, the first Russian combat unit, the First Battalion of the 135th Motorized Rifle Regiment, was ordered at around dawn of 8 August to move through the Roki Tunnel and reinforce the Russian peacekeeping forces in Tskhinvali. According to him, the unit passed through the tunnel at 2:30 p.m. It reached Tskhinvali in the evening, meeting heavy resistance from Georgian troops. Georgia disputed the account, saying that it was in heavy combat with Russian forces near the tunnel long before dawn of 8 August. Some Western intelligence experts believe that Russian troops did not begin marching through the tunnel until roughly 11 a.m. on 8 August. By the afternoon of August 8, Georgian forces had captured large parts of Tskhinvali, but had been unable to take the Northern quarter and the city centre. However, the Georgians were meeting heavy resistance from Ossetian militia and Russian reinforcements coming in from the Roki Tunnel. Georgian flank operations were unsuccessful in their goal of blocking the Gupta Bridge and the main routes leading to Tskhinvali from the Roki Tunnel and Java base. The Georgians became bogged down and their advance was stopped. Ossetian militia using handheld anti-tank weaponry proved effective against Georgian armor, knocking out a number of Georgian tanks, which eventually stopped disorganized and un-coordinated attacks. Isolated from the main Georgian forces, the Georgian Army's battalion-strong Kchevi Tank Group attacked from a Georgian village enclave and attempted to hit Russian forces moving along the detour Zara highway in the flank, but was stopped by Russian artillery fire and airstrikes.
During the evening of 8 August, vicious fighting took place in the area of Tskhinvali and in other parts of South Ossetia. The fighting in South Ossetian towns and villages was done by the local militia and volunteers, while Russian troops concentrated on engaging larger Georgian army groups. Three Tactical Battalion Groups of the 19th Motorized Rifle Division
19th Motor Rifle Division
The 19th Motor Rifle Division appears to have been formed originally in July 1922 at Tambov in the Moscow Military District as a territorial formation. In 1923 it was awarded the 'Tambov' placename and renamed the 19th Voronezh Rifle Division....
deployed in battle formation pushed Georgian forces from the roads and heights near Dzari, Kverneti, and Tbeti districts, and as far west as the western edge of Tskhinvali. Russia also undertook action to suppress Georgian artillery fire. Russian special units reportedly prevented Georgian "saboteurs" from blowing up the Roki Tunnel, which could have hindered the sending of reinforcements to South Ossetia. Russian media reported that exchanges of fire between Russian and Georgian troops continued throughout the night.
The passage of Russian forces through the narrow Roki Tunnel and along the mountain roads was slow and the Russians had difficulties in concentrating their troops, forcing them to bring their forces into battle battalion by battalion. Because of this, a fierce battle took place on 9 August in the region of Tskhinvali, and the Georgians were able to mount several counterattacks, including some with tanks. These attacks were repulsed with losses, and the Georgians were forced to withdraw. Because of the gradual increase in troops, the combined amassed Russian and South Ossetian forces in South Ossetia outnumbered the Georgians for the first time on 9–10 August. The Russians moved between 5,500 and 10,000 troops to South Ossetia through the Roki Tunnel, according to Der Spiegel. On August 9, a Russian advance column led by Lieutenant-General Anatoly Khrulyov
Anatoly Khrulyov
Lieutenant General Anatoly Khrulyov is a Russian general who was the commander of the Russian 58th Army in South Ossetia during the 2008 South Ossetia War. He was wounded when his military column moving into Tskhinvali was destroyed by Georgian special forces on 9 August 2008.- References :...
moved into Tskhinvali from the Roki Tunnel, and was ambushed by Georgian special forces. The column took heavy casualties, and all but five of its thirty armored vehicles were destroyed. Lieutenant-General Khrulyov was wounded in the leg by shrapnel. Russian Major Denis Vetchinov
Denis Vetchinov
Denis Vasiliyevich Vetchinov was a Russian Ground Forces major killed in action during the 2008 South Ossetia war and posthumuously awarded with Russia's highest military award, Hero of the Russian Federation, for his role in the conflict.-Biography:...
managed to organized a defense. Despite being hit in both legs, he killed a Georgian soldier with a trophy Georgian machine gun, but he was hit in the head by Georgian return fire and died en route to hospital. Vetchinov was awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation
Hero of the Russian Federation
Hero of the Russian Federation is a Russian decoration and the highest honorary title that can be bestowed on a citizen by the Russian Federation. The President of the Russian Federation is the main conferring authority of the medal, which is bestowed on those committing actions or deeds that...
posthumously. Among the wounded were two Russian journalists embedded with the column. One Russian Su-24
Sukhoi Su-24
The Sukhoi Su-24 is a supersonic, all-weather attack aircraft developed in the Soviet Union. This variable-sweep wing, twin-engined two-seater carried the USSR's first integrated digital navigation/attack system...
was shot down by Georgian air defenses, and the Russian Air Force stopped flying sorties against Georgian targets until 10 August.
At 5:00 a.m., two Russian tanks of the 141st Independent Tank Battalion broke through the Georgian encirclement of the Russian peacekeeping camp, reinforcing the peacekeepers and allowing casualties to be evacuated. One tank was destroyed, and the other ran out of ammunition by nightfall.
The Georgians continued advancing through the city, and forced Russian and South Ossetian forces back in heavy street fighting. According to Moscow Defense Brief
Moscow Defense Brief
Moscow Defense Brief is a bimonthly English-language defense magazine published by Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies , an independent defense think-tank.- Overview :...
, by the morning of August 10, the Georgians had captured almost the whole of Tskhinvali, forcing Ossetian militia and Russian forces to retreat to the northern reaches of the city. A little tank battle took place, during which one Russian T-62, one T-72B and one Georgian T-72Sim1 tanks were destroyed. The Georgians also targeted Russian forces with artillery and airstrikes. However, the fighting reached a turning point toward the evening of August 10, when Russian and Ossetian troops were fully bolstered by Russian reinforcements from the Roki Tunnel, and counterattacked. Georgian forces were cleared out of most of Tskhinvali, and forced to retreat to the south of the city. Georgian forces were also driven off the key Prisi heights. The bulk of Georgian artillery was defeated. Meanwhile, Ossetian forces supported by Russian divisions captured the villages of Tamarasheni, Kekhvi, Kurta, and Achabeti on the approach to Tskhinvali from the north, and pushed Georgian forces out of several enclaves. However, Georgian units in the area around the village of Zemo-Nikosi carried out a successful ambush against Russian forces, killing a number of soldiers and destroying several tanks. The village was captured shortly afterward by Chechen paramilitaries of the Vostok Battalion. Georgian artillery continued to shell Tskhinvali from a number of high points. On 11 August, the Georgian Air Force continued launching air attacks on Russian forces. A Russian Su-24 was shot down by Georgian air defenses, and a Georgian Su-25 was also shot down, but the pilot survived. According to Russian sources, Georgian artillery resumed shelling Tskhinvali, and a South Ossetian government representative claimed that Georgian troops opened the irrigation canal to flood basements and prevent civilians from seeking shelter. That information was never confirmed. Throughout the day, intense ground combat continued, and by the end of the day, Georgian forces had been completely pushed out of South Ossetia.
According to the Georgian Defense Minister, the Georgian military tried to push into Tskhinvali three times in all. During the last attempt, they were met with a very heavy Russian-led counter attack with air support, which Georgian officials described as "something like hell." In total, the fighting in the Tskhinvali area lasted for three days and nights, by the end of which Georgian artillery was forced from positions from which it could shell the city and Georgia's ground forces pulled completely out of South Ossetia.
Russian forces advanced into Georgia proper by the next morning. Having retreated from South Ossetia, the Georgian forces regrouped at Gori
Gori, Georgia
Gori is a city in eastern Georgia, which serves as the regional capital of Shida Kartli and the centre of the homonymous administrative district. The name is from Georgian gora , that is, "heap", or "hill"...
.
During its orderly retreat out of South Ossetia into Gori, the Georgian forces were repeatedly hit by Russian air and artillery strikes which inflicted massive casualties upon mostly lightly armored vehicles and Infantry units in tight column formations. Hundreds were wounded and dozens killed. Despite the call for a ceasefire what the Georgian government agreed on without Russia following, Georgian units were not spared from being intensively bombed. The attacks decisively dropped the fighting morale of the Georgian troops. The general withdrawal became chaotic in some areas and many Georgian soldiers used civilian vehicles to escape the bombing.
A little skirmish occurred on August 11, when a Georgian logistics column was hit hard by a Russian VDV detachment which' vehicles, a BMD-1
BMD-1
The BMD-1 is a Soviet airborne amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle, which was introduced in 1969 and first seen by the West in 1970. BMD stands for Boyevaya Mashina Desanta . It can be dropped by parachute and although it resembles the BMP-1 it is in fact much smaller...
stood broken near a road to the town of Gori
Gori, Georgia
Gori is a city in eastern Georgia, which serves as the regional capital of Shida Kartli and the centre of the homonymous administrative district. The name is from Georgian gora , that is, "heap", or "hill"...
. The unit instantly opened heavy fire after having visual on the column killing a dozen Georgians. The soldiers in the Landrover vehicles had little chance but a few still managed to escape the scene. Corpses gathered from the roads, were driven out with civilian vans and pickups. More than 70 dead were registered besides the 90 KIA
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
in Tskhinvali
Tskhinvali
Tskhinvali , is the capital of South Ossetia, a disputed region which has been recognised as an independent Republic by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Nauru, and is regarded by Georgia and the rest of the world as part of the Shida Kartli region within Georgian sovereign territory.It is located...
and other parts of South Ossetia, what brought the total number of Georgian military casaulties to 170 dead and hundreds of wounded.
Bombing and occupation of Gori
Gori, Georgia
Gori is a city in eastern Georgia, which serves as the regional capital of Shida Kartli and the centre of the homonymous administrative district. The name is from Georgian gora , that is, "heap", or "hill"...
is a major Georgian city close to the administrative boundary of the region of South Ossetia, about 25 km (16 mi) from Tskhinvali. The Georgian Army used Gori as its staging area during the Battle of Tskhinvali
Battle of Tskhinvali
The Battle of Tskhinvali was a fight for the city of Tskhinvali, capital of South Ossetia. It was the only major battle in the 2008 South Ossetia War. Georgian ground troops entered the city on early 8 August 2008, after an extensive artillery barrage. Their advance was stopped by South Ossetian...
, and the Russian Air Force bombed the city several times. Seventy-five tanks and armored personnel carriers—a third of the Georgian military's arsenal—were assembled near Gori. Georgian artillery units were also stationed near Gori.
According to western intelligence, the Russian bombings began at 7:30 a.m. 8 August, when Russia fired an SS-21 ballistic missile at military or government bunkers in the city of Borjomi
Borjomi
Borjomi is a resort town in south-central Georgia with a population estimated at 14,445. It is one of the districts of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region and is situated in the northwestern part of the region in the picturesque Borjomi Gorge on the eastern edge of the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park...
, southwest of Gori. The first Russian air attack hit the village of Shavshvebi, located in the Gori District. Around 6 a.m. on 9 August, Reuters reported that two Russian fighters had bombed a Georgian artillery position near Gori
Gori, Georgia
Gori is a city in eastern Georgia, which serves as the regional capital of Shida Kartli and the centre of the homonymous administrative district. The name is from Georgian gora , that is, "heap", or "hill"...
. On 9 August, a Russian air attack targeted an arms depot. In the resulting explosion, several apartment buildings and a school were damaged. The Georgian government reported that 60 civilians were killed when at least one bomb hit an adjacent apartment building. According to the Russian military, Russian aircraft dropped three bombs on an armament depot, and the façade of one of the adjacent 5-story apartment buildings suffered damage as a result exploding ammunition from the depot. On August 12, a Russian cluster bomb attack hit the central square of the city, killing several Georgian civilians and Dutch journalist Stan Storimans, and injuring over 30. A helicopter-fired air-to-ground missile also struck the Gori military hospital, killing doctor Goga Abramashvili. The Georgian government also claimed that Russian bombing had hit the University of Gori, the post office, and the theater. Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
(HRW), an international rights group, charged Russia with deploying controversial and indiscriminately deadly cluster bombs on civilian areas of Georgia.
On the evening of 10 August, large numbers of the civilian population began to flee the city and the surrounding area after the Georgian Interior Ministry declared Gori to be not safe. By the next day, 11 August, 56,000 people had fled the Gori District.
The Georgian Army expected that the Russians would attempt to take Gori, and Georgian troops, armored vehicles, and heavy artillery took positions 25 kilometers north of Gori, and anti-aircraft units were stationed inside the city. Following its defeat at Tskhinvali, the Georgian Army regrouped at Gori. Russian and South Ossetian forces established artillery positions inside Georgia proper. In the hours before the fall of Gori, sustained exchanges of artillery fire took place, and Russian jets bombed Georgian positions nine kilometers from the border. Six Georgian helicopter gunships also attacked targets inside South Ossetia.
Moscow Defense Brief
Moscow Defense Brief is a bimonthly English-language defense magazine published by Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies , an independent defense think-tank.- Overview :...
, the retreat of the Georgian army from Gori soon grew into "a panicked flight" almost all the way to Tbilisi. Scores of Georgian tanks and armored personnel carries fled to Tbilisi, while a number of tanks were abandoned. Most artillery pieces were also taken to Tbilisi, but six assault guns were abandoned. A tank exploded and burned due to unspecified reasons, and an armored car pushing it out of the way also caught fire. Georgian infantry fled the city in military trucks and civilian vehicles. Five soldiers escaped the city on a Quad bike
Quad bike
A Quad bike is recognised by UK law as a vehicle with four wheels and a mass of less than 550 kg.To drive a quad bike on a public road, in the UK, requires a B1 licence as well as tax, insurance and registration.-19th century:...
. Two military trucks crashed into each other while retreating from the city, and dozens of vehicles were left behind. Many of Gori's remaining inhabitants also fled the city, including hospital staff fleeing in ambulances.
The Russian and Ossetian forces denied access to some humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...
missions seeking to assist civilians. The United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, which described the humanitarian situation in Gori as "desperate," was able to deliver only limited food supplies to the city. On 15 August, Russian troops allowed a number of humanitarian supplies into the city but continued their blockade. In the 17 August report, HRW said the organisation's researchers interviewed ethnic Georgians from the city of Gori and surrounding villages who described how armed South Ossetian militias attacked their cars and kidnapped civilians as people tried to flee in response to militia attacks on their homes following the Russian advance into the area. In phone interviews, people remaining in Gori region villages told HRW that they had witnessed looting
Looting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
and arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
attacks by South Ossetian militias in their villages, but were afraid to leave after learning about militia attacks on those who fled. A Russian lieutenant said on 14 August: "We have to be honest. The Ossetians are marauding." Refugees claimed that groups of Ossetians and Russian irregulars such as Chechen and Kazakh
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
paramilities were entering villages, slitting the throats of men and raping women. Answering a journalist's question, a Russian lieutenant colonel said: "We're not a police force, we're a military force. It's not our job to do police work." The New York Times noted, that "the Russian military might be making efforts in some places to stop the rampaging". According to the Hague Convention
Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907)
The Hague Conventions were two international treaties negotiated at international peace conferences at The Hague in the Netherlands: The First Hague Conference in 1899 and the Second Hague Conference in 1907...
, an occupying power has to "insure public order and safety in the occupied areas". The Russian human rights group Memorial
Memorial (society)
Memorial is an international historical and civil rights society that operates in a number of post-Soviet states. It focuses on recording and publicising the Soviet Union's totalitarian past, but also monitors human rights in post-Soviet states....
called the attacks by South Ossetian militia "pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
s". On 14 August, efforts to institute joint patrols between the Russian Army and Georgian Police in Gori broke down because of apparent discord among personnel.
Georgian special forces in traveling pickup trucks repeatedly approached Gori to survey Russian positions, while Georgian Police set up roadblocks to prevent civilians from returning to the Russian-occupied city.
The occupation lasted until 22 August. Georgian Police then re-entered the city.
Abkhazian front
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
left their base in Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, on the evening of 8 August. On 10 August RIA-Novosti – quoting a source at the Russian Navy Main Staff – reported that a group of Russian warships had arrived at the maritime border with Georgia in the eastern part of the Black Sea. "In the morning of Sunday 10 August, the Black Sea Fleet flagship, the missile cruiser Moskva, destroyer Smetlivyy and auxiliary vessels from the Black Sea Fleet base in Sevastopol reached the intended area", the source was quoted as saying. According to the source, the warships joined three large Russian landing-ships, which had deployed to the area earlier from Sevastopol and from Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is the country's main port on the Black Sea and the leading Russian port for importing grain. It is one of the few cities honored with the title of the Hero City. Population: -History:...
. "The objective of the Black Sea Fleet's warships in the area is to be prepared to provide assistance to refugees", the source said. He denied earlier media reports that the warships were enforcing a blockade of Georgia's coast. "A naval blockade would indicate war with Georgia. We are not at war with Georgia." The flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the missile cruiser Moskva, and the escort ship Smetlivyy entered the port of Novorossiysk on Sunday 10 August and dropped anchor, according to sources in the Novorossiysk administration. On the evening of 10 August a naval skirmish
Battle off the coast of Abkhazia
The Battle off the coast of Abkhazia was a naval engagement between vessels of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and patrol boats of the Coast Guard of Georgia.- The Engagement :...
between the Russian task force and several Georgian naval vessels took place. According to Russia, two Georgian missile boat
Missile boat
A Missile Boat is a small craft armed with anti-ship missiles. Being a small craft, missile boats are popular with nations interested in forming an inexpensive navy...
s and two auxiliary craft breached the Russian "security zone". The Russian Nanuchka III class
Nanuchka class corvette
The Nanuchka class was the NATO reporting name for a series of corvettes or small missile ships built for the Soviet Navy and export customers between 1969 and 1981. The Soviet designation was Project 1234 Ovod Small Missile Ship. These ships were designed around the P-120 Malakhit anti ship...
corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
Mirazh (Mirage) destroyed the Georgian Coast Guard patrol-cutter Giorgi Toreli with two Malakhit (SS-N-9)
SS-N-9
The P-120 Malakhit is a Russian medium range anti-ship missile used by corvettes and submarines. It has a range of up to . Introduced in 1972, it remains in service but has been superseded by the SS-N-22 Sunburn.-Development:...
anti-ship missiles, killing 30 sailors. This was the Russian Navy's first real sea battle since 1945. The Russians claimed that Georgian ships had violated the security zone of the Black Sea Fleet and therefore the action was in self-defense in accordance with international law. Following the action, the remaining Georgian ships withdrew to a nearby harbour.
On 9 August, Russia opened a second front in Abkhazia, deploying up to 9,000 men from the 7th Novorossiysk and 76th Pskov Air Assault Divisions, elements of the 20th Motorised Rifle Division and two battalions of the Black Sea Fleet Marines, as well as 5,000 Abkhaz light infantry and artillery support. Abkhazian aircraft and artillery began a two-day bombardment against Georgian forces. The Russian Air Force bombed a Georgian military base in Senaki
Senaki
Senaki is a town in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, western Georgia. It is located at around .From 1935 to 1976 it was called Tskhakaya in honor of the Georgian Bolshevik revolutionary leader Mikhail Tskhakaya....
, killing 13 soldiers and wounding another 13. The base itself suffered heavy damage.
On 10 August Abkhazia declared a full military mobilisation to "drive out the 1,000 Georgian troops" from their remaining stronghold in the Kodori Valley
Kodori Valley
The Kodori Valley is a river valley in Abkhazia, Georgia's breakaway autonomous republic. The valley's upper part, populated by Svans, was the only corner of the post-1993 Abkhazia, directly controlled by the central Georgian government, which officially styles the area as Upper Abkhazia...
. Russian forces secured the Georgian controlled Khurcha settlement in Abkhazia on August 10.
On August 11, Russian paratroopers deployed in Abkhazia carried out raids against military bases deep inside Georgian territory, from where Georgia could send reinforcements to its troops in South Ossetia. Russian forces, meeting virtually no resistance, reached the military base near the town of Senaki in undisputed Georgian territory on 11 August, destroying the base there and capturing four tanks. During a reconnaissance mission, the Russian Air Force shot down two Georgian helicopters at the airbase at Senaki. Russian troops also drove through the port of Poti
Poti
Poti is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near the site of the ancient Greek colony of Phasis, the city has become a major port city and industrial center since the early 20th century. It is also...
, and occupied positions around it. On 12 August, the Abkhazian authorities announced the beginning of a military offensive
Battle of the Kodori Valley
The Battle of Kodori Valley was a military operation in the Upper Kodori Valley, during the 2008 South Ossetia war, the only part of Abkhazia, which remained under Georgian control after the War in Abkhazia from 1992 to 1993. Hostilities started, during the 2008 South Ossetia war, the Abkhazian...
against Georgian troops in the Kodori Gorge area. The Georgian government claimed that Abkhaz infantry and armor was attacking Georgian defenses in the Kodori Valley. Abkhaz forces took the villages of Azhara and Chkhalta
Chkhalta
Chkhalta is the largest village in the upper part of the Kodori Valley, situated in Gulripsh District, Abkhazia, a breakaway Republic from Georgia.-History:...
, and a group of 250 Abkhaz soldiers was reported to have clashed with Georgian forces in the Gorge at the edge of Abkhazia. On the same day, Georgia said it was withdrawing its troops from the Kodori Gorge as a "gesture of goodwill". Clashes between Georgian and Abkhazian forces lasted until 13 August, when all of the remaining Georgian forces, as well as 1,500 civilian residents, left Kodori Valley for Georgia proper. Casualties were light on both sides. One Abkhazian soldier was killed in action and two were wounded during the fighting. Two Georgian soldiers were also killed.
Bombing and occupation of Poti
Russian aircraft had attacked the city on August 9, bombing the PortPoti Sea Port
The Poti Sea Port is a major seaport and harbor off the eastern Black Sea coast at the mouth of the Rioni River in Poti, Georgia. Its UN/LOCODE is GEPTI and is located at...
and a nearby airbase. Most of the Georgian Navy and Georgian Coast Guard escaped to Batumi
Batumi
Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...
during the conflict, but some vessels were left behind. On 14 August, Russian troops entered Poti and sank three Georgian naval vessels moored in the harbour, as well as removing or destroying military equipment. The Russians also seized the highway linking Poti to Tbilisi. Four days later, Russian forces in Poti took prisoner 22 Georgian troops who had approached the city. They were taken to a Georgian military base occupied by Russian troops at Senaki. The Russians seized four Georgian Humvees in that same action. From 13–15 August, according to Moscow Defence Brief
Moscow Defense Brief
Moscow Defense Brief is a bimonthly English-language defense magazine published by Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies , an independent defense think-tank.- Overview :...
, "Russian paratroops raided Poti again and again, destroying almost all of the docked ships and boats of the Georgian Navy, and took away a quantity of valuable military equipment."
Bombing of Tbilisi
During fighting in South Ossetia, Tbilisi and its surrounding areas came under repeated attack by the Russian Air ForceRussian Air Force
The Russian Air Force is the air force of Russian Military. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota , or AV-MF).The Air Force was formed from...
. On 8 August, the Georgian Interior Ministry reported that a Russian fighter dropped two bombs on Vaziani Military Base
Vaziani Military Base
The Vaziani Military Base is located about twenty kilometers outside Tbilisi at Latitude 41.6947 Longitude 45.0467, Georgia. The main base is spread over 10,000 hectares....
near Tbilisi, killing three soldiers. Russian fighters also bombed a military airfield near Marneuli
Marneuli
Marneuli is a small city in the Kvemo Kartli region of southern Georgia and administrative center of Marneuli District that borders neighboring Azerbaijan and Armenia.-Population:...
, killing four and wounding five. According to the Georgian Interior Ministry, Russian aircraft dropped three bombs on Tbilisi International Airport
Tbilisi International Airport
Tbilisi International Airport is the main international airport in Georgia, located southeast of the capital Tbilisi.-Overview:In February 2007, the reconstruction project was finished...
early on August 10. Reuters correspondents in Tbilisi reported hearing three loud bangs in the early-morning hours. Russia denied bombing the airport. Russia also bombed the Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing
Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing
Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing , also known as JSC Tbilaviamsheni, is a Tbilisi, Georgia manufacturing company specializing in aerospace...
plant (located next to Vaziani Military Base), resulting in an unspecified amount of damage. On August 11, Russia bombed a radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
station near Tbilisi.
Six-point peace plan
International reaction to the 2008 South Ossetia war
The international reaction to the 2008 South Ossetia war covered many nations, NGOs, and non-state actors. The conflict began in August 2008 over South Ossetia but eventually the violence spread elsewhere in Georgia as well...
began calling for a peaceful solution to the conflict. The European Union and the United States expressed a willingness to send a joint delegation to try to negotiate a ceasefire. Russia, however, ruled out peace talks with Georgia until the latter withdrew from South Ossetia and signed a legally binding pact renouncing the use of force against South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
On 12 August, Russian President Medvedev said that he had ordered an end to military operations in Georgia, saying that "the operation has achieved its goal, security for peacekeepers and civilians has been restored. The aggressor was punished, suffering huge losses." Later on the same day, he met the President-in-Office
President of the European Council
The President of the European Council is a principal representative of the European Union on the world stage, and the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council...
of the European Union, French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
, and approved a six-point peace plan. Late that night Georgian President Saakashvili agreed to the text. Sarkozy's plan originally had just the first four points. Russia added the fifth and sixth points. Georgia asked for the additions in parentheses, but Russia rejected them, and Sarkozy convinced Georgia to agree to the unchanged text. On 14 August, South Ossetia President Eduard Kokoity and Abkhazia President Sergei Bagapsh
Sergei Bagapsh
Sergei Uasyl-ipa Bagapsh was the second President of the Republic of Abkhazia. He was Prime Minister from 1997 to 1999 and was later elected as President in 2005. He was re-elected in the 2009 presidential election...
signed the peace plan as well.
- No recourse to the use of force.
- Definitive cessation of hostilities.
- Free access to humanitarian aid (addition rejected: and to allow the return of refugees).
- The Armed Forces of Georgia must withdraw to their permanent positions.
- The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation must withdraw to the line where they were stationed prior to the beginning of hostilities. Prior to the establishment of international mechanisms the Russian peacekeeping forces will take additional security measures. (addition rejected: six months)
- An international debate on the future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and ways to ensure their lasting security will take place. (addition rejected: based on the decisions of the UN and the OSCE).
After the cease fire had been signed, hostilities did not immediately stop. According to Moscow Defence Brief
Moscow Defense Brief
Moscow Defense Brief is a bimonthly English-language defense magazine published by Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies , an independent defense think-tank.- Overview :...
, active raids on bases inside Georgian territory to capture and destroy Georgian weapons and equipment, in what was termed the "demilitarization of the Georgian Armed Forces". Noting that people were fleeing before the still advancing Russian tanks and soldiers and the following "irregulars", a reporter for the UK The Guardian stated on 13 August, "the idea there is a ceasefire is ridiculous." On 15 August, United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
also travelled to Tbilisi, where Saakashvili signed the 6-point peace plan in her presence. Russia and Georgia exchanged prisoners of war on 19 August. Georgia said it handed over 5 Russian servicemen, in exchange for 13 Georgians soldiers and 2 civilians, but said that it suspected Russia of holding 2 more Georgians prisoner.
Russian withdrawal
Despite numerous calls for a quick withdrawal from Georgia by western leaders, Russian troops remained stationed inside some parts of Georgia proper for about two months. Beginning on 17 August, some troops withdrew. However, Russian checkpoints remained near Gori as well as in so-called buffer zones near the borders with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and two Russian observer posts remained near Poti. On 19 August, all Russian troops in Gori withdrew to South Ossetia, but a platoon continued to man a checkpoint near Nasreti. Civilian refugees returned, and the military base was re-occupied by the Georgian Army. All Russian forces in Senaki also withdrew to Abkhazia. On 23 August, Russian forces withdrew from Igoeti, and were replaced by Georgian police. On 10 September, Russian forces withdrew from their checkpoints in western Georgia, and reduced their forces near Poti. A Georgian police officer was shot and killed several hundred meters from a Russian checkpoint in Karaleti, twelve miles from South Ossetia. Russian forces denied responsibility, saying that it may have been perpetrated by South Ossetian militia. On 6 October, Russian troops dismantled and withdrew from a checkpoint in Nabakhtevi. On 1 October, a Russian truck strayed out of the Russian buffer zone near South Ossetia, and was stopped by Georgian police. The truck was found to be carrying explosives and jamming equipment, which was confiscated and shown to the media. The driver, an eighteen year old soldier from North Ossetia, was arrested and interrogated at a police station in MtskhetaMtskheta
Mtskheta , one of the oldest cities of the country of Georgia , is located approximately 20 kilometers north of Tbilisi at the confluence of the Aragvi and Kura rivers. The city is now the administrative centre of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region...
. He was subsequently put in front of the media and allowed to answer questions from journalists before being handed over to OSCE observers. On 9 October, Russian forces withdrew from the buffer zones and dismantled all their checkpoints. Georgian Army and police forces and civilians subsequently returned. The withdrawal was observed by European Union monitors. A single checkpoint in the border village of Perevi remained. On December 12, Russian forces withdrew from Perevi, and were replaced by Georgian police. Hours later, a 500-strong Russian contingent re-occupied Perevi, and Georgian police withdrew after the Russians threatened to fire. Russian forces established three checkpoints in the village. On 18 October 2010, all Russian troops in Perevi withdrew to South Ossetia after dismantling the checkpoints, and were replaced by a Georgian Army unit. On 9 September 2008, Russia officially announced that its troops in South Ossetia and Abkhazia would "henceforth be considered foreign troops stationed in independent states under bilateral agreements". Georgia considers Abkhazia and South Ossetia "Russian-occupied territories". Russia maintains 3,700 soldiers in both South Ossetia and Abkhazia and opened military bases in Java, Tskhinvali, and Gudauta
Gudauta
Gudauta is a town in Abkhazia and a centre of the eponymous district. It is situated on the Black Sea, 37 km northwest to Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia....
in 2010.
Russia spent $400 million on the bases. In August 2010, Russia deployed S-300 long-range air defense missiles in Abkhazia, and other air defense systems in South Ossetia. Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
both criticized Russia for this move. According to the British House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, Russia is in violation of the six-point peace plan by keeping troops stationed in areas it did not previously control. The French government
Politics of France
France is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, in which the President of France is head of state and the Prime Minister of France is the head of government, and there is a pluriform, multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is...
said that Russia was not yet fulfilling its commitments to the six-point peace plan.
On October 3, 2008, seven Russian soldiers were killed and another seven wounded by a car bomb that exploded near the Russian peacekeeping headquarters. According to South Ossetian sources, the car had been found by Russian soldiers in a Georgian village, and had been confiscated and taken to the base, where it blew up. The Russian and South Ossetian governments blamed the Georgian Security Ministry for the attack, saying that it was an attempt to undermine the cease-fire, while Georgia claimed that Russia had organized the explosion as an excuse to maintain its presence in South Ossetia.
International monitors
, there are 225 EU ceasefire monitors operating in Georgia. Previous mandates of OSCE monitors (in South Ossetia) and the UN (UNOMIG, Abkhazia and Georgia) expired on 1 January and June 16 respectively. Russia vetoed the extension of the mandates, arguing that the mandates did not properly reflect Russia's position of recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. According to the head of the UN mission, Johan Verbeke, roughly 60,000 ethnic Georgians in Abkhazia will be left unprotected after the mission's end. OSCE monitors had been denied access to South Ossetia since the war.A number of incidents have occurred in both border conflict zones since the war ended, and tensions between the belligerents remain high.
Humanitarian impact and war crimes
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
(HRW), all parties committed serious violations of international human rights and
humanitarian law, resulting in many civilian deaths and injuries. Georgian forces used indiscriminate force during their attack on South Ossetia "with blatant disregard for the safety of civilians." The Georgians directed tank and machine gun fire at buildings in Tskhinvali, including at apartment buildings and basements where civilians sheltered. South Ossetian forces had fired on Georgian forces from at least some of these buildings. The Georgian military used BM-21 Grad MRLs, a multiple rocket launch system, to destroy targets situated in civilian areas. The Russian military has also used indiscriminate force in attacks in South Ossetia and in the Gori district, and has apparently targeted convoys of civilians attempting to flee the conflict zones. Russian warplanes bombed civilian population centres in Georgia, and Georgian villages in South Ossetia. A Russian bombing in the Georgian city of Gori
Gori, Georgia
Gori is a city in eastern Georgia, which serves as the regional capital of Shida Kartli and the centre of the homonymous administrative district. The name is from Georgian gora , that is, "heap", or "hill"...
killed 60 civilians and wounded scores more. Armed gangs and Ossetian militia committed looting
Looting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
, arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
attacks, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and abductions
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
in Georgian villages and towns, terrorising the civilian population, forcing them to flee their homes and preventing displaced people from returning home. In the Georgian city of Gori
Gori, Georgia
Gori is a city in eastern Georgia, which serves as the regional capital of Shida Kartli and the centre of the homonymous administrative district. The name is from Georgian gora , that is, "heap", or "hill"...
, Ossetian militia terrorised the civilian population and attacked anyone who tried to flee. The Georgian Army had retreated to defend Tbilisi, and did not return until the Russians and Ossetians withdrew.
HRW further reports that both Georgians and Russians used cluster bombs of the types M85S and RBK 250, resulting in civilian casualties. Georgia admits using cluster bombs against Russian troops and the Roki tunnel. Georgia was also reported to have used cluster munitions twice to hit civilians fleeing from the battle zone through the main escape route. Russia denies the use of cluster bombs, but is accused of having used them in its attacks against Gori, Ruisi and Karbi. HRW called the conflict a disaster for civilians. HRW also called for international organisations to send fact-finding missions to establish the facts, report on human rights, and urged the authorities to account for any crimes.
On 8 September Thomas Hammarberg
Thomas Hammarberg
Thomas Hammarberg is a Swedish diplomat and human rights defender.He is currently the Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg...
, Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
Commissioner for Human Rights
Commissioner for Human Rights
The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent institution within the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, mandated to promote the awareness of and respect for human rights in member states...
, issued a report titled "Human Rights in Areas Affected by the South Ossetia Conflict" stating that during the conflict "a very large number of people had been victimised. More than half of the population in South Ossetia fled, the overwhelming majority of them after the Georgian artillery and tank attack on Tskhinvali and the assaults on Georgian villages by South Ossetian militia and criminal gangs." The report also states that the main Tskhinvali hospital had been hit by rockets, that some "residential areas in the city" of Tskhinvali were "completely destroyed" and "the main building of the Russian peace keeping force as well as the base’s medical dispensary had been hit by heavy artillery." Furthermore, the villages with ethnic Georgian majority between Tskhinvali
Tskhinvali
Tskhinvali , is the capital of South Ossetia, a disputed region which has been recognised as an independent Republic by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Nauru, and is regarded by Georgia and the rest of the world as part of the Shida Kartli region within Georgian sovereign territory.It is located...
and Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
"have been destroyed, reportedly by South Ossetian militia and criminal gangs."
According to Human Rights Watch, during the August war, South Ossetian militias burned and looted most ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia, effectively preventing 20,000 residents displaced by the conflict from returning. Furthermore, the civilians willing to live in South Ossetia are obliged to accept a Russian passport in order to be authorised to. According to Memorial the villages of Kekhvi
Kekhvi
Kekhvi is an abandoned village in the Gori Municipality of Georgia. The village is located on the left bank of the Greater Liakhvi River. The Transcaucasian highway passes through the village. The road from Tskhinvali to Kekhvi – 7.38 km...
, Kurta
Kurta
A kurta is a traditional item of clothing worn in Afghanistan, Pakistan , Nepal, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. It is a loose shirt falling either just above or somewhere below the knees of the wearer, and is worn by both men and women...
, Achabeti, Tamarasheni
Tamarasheni
Tamarasheni is a former village in Georgia, within the territory controlled by separatist South Ossetia, some 0.5 km north of Tskhinvali....
, Eredvi, Vanati and Avnevi
Avnevi
Avnevi is a small village in South Ossetia, a region of Georgia who's sovereignty is disputed. Avnevi is located 873 meters above sea level and 109 kilometers from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi....
have been "virtually fully burnt down". South Ossetian president Eduard Kokoity stated in an interview that Georgian villages were successfully demolished and none of the Georgian refugees would be allowed to return. A total of 30,000 Georgians became refugees.
In the weeks following the conflict, the Georgian government began building numerous settlements throughout the country to permanently accommodate Georgian refugees.
In November 2008, Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
released a 69 page report detailing serious international law violations on the conduct of war by both Georgia and Russia. The great majority of those killed in the war were civilians. Russian and South Ossetian officials initially claimed that up to 2,000 Ossetian civilians were killed by georgian forces. These high casualty figures, are according to Russia the reason for the military intervention in Georgia. Almost one year after the conflict, Georgia has reported more than 413 deaths. Based on reports by Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, The estimate the Commissioner received from the Russian authorities on confirmed deaths was 133 people in Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia. Human Rights in Areas Affected by the South Ossetia Conflict. Special Mission to Georgia and Russian Federation] On the other hand, the false claims of high casualties may have significantly influenced public sentiment among Ossetians. According to Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, some of the Ossetian residents they interviewed justified the torching and looting of the Georgian villages by referring to "thousands of civilian casualties in South Ossetia," as reported by Russian federal TV channels. Stan Storimans, a Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
journalist, was the only foreigner killed in the conflict.
Both sides have filed complaints with various international courts, including the International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
, the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
(where the written pleadings in the case Georgia vs Russian Federation start on 2 September 2009) and the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
, against each other.
The EU commission also found facts of ethnic cleansing of Georgians.
Infrastructure damage
According to Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, on the night of 7 to 8 August, Georgian forces shelled the city of Tskhinvali and several nearby Ossetian villages heavily. Tskhinvali was also heavily shelled during daytime hours on 8 August. HRW reports that South Ossetian fighters took up positions in civilian locations, including schools and a kindergarten, turning them into legitimate military targets. Several of these locations were then hit by Georgian artillery. Shelling resumed at a smaller scale on 9 August, when Georgian forces were targeting Russian troops who by then had moved into Tskhinvali and other areas of South Ossetia. The organisation has discovered evidence of widespread destruction in Tskhinvali caused by indiscriminate fire from Georgian artillery and rocket launchers. Tskhinvali residents are almost unanimous in blaming the Georgian troops for the destruction of the city.
The Georgian side maintains that the Russian Army should be held responsible for heavy damage and destruction of buildings and infrastructure in Tskhinvali, as it was bombing the city for three days. "When aircraft started bombing our positions in Tskhinvali, this is when most civilian buildings were burned", explained Davit Kezerashvili
Davit Kezerashvili
Davit Kezerashvili is a Georgian politician, who from November 10, 2006 to December 5, 2008 was the country's Minister of Defense.-Biography:...
. Russian journalist Julia Latinina also blames Russia for damaging the city. According to a Georgian police officer, "the city was unimpaired" when they entered into it.
Russia bombed airfields and economic infrastructure, including the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
port of Poti
Poti
Poti is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near the site of the ancient Greek colony of Phasis, the city has become a major port city and industrial center since the early 20th century. It is also...
. Between eight and eleven Russian jets reportedly hit container tanks and a shipbuilding plant at the port. On 16 August 2008, Russian forces advancing towards Tbilisi exploded the railway bridge near Kaspi
Kaspi
Kaspi is a town in central Georgia on the Mtkvari River. It is a center of Kaspi district, one of the four districts in Shida Kartli region. Founded in the early Middle Ages, the town turned into possession of the Amilakhvari noble family in the 15th century...
, about 50 km (31 mi) outside of the Georgian capital, thus cutting the link between Eastern and Western Georgia as well as the main transport link between landlocked Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
and the Georgian Black Sea ports of Batumi
Batumi
Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...
and Poti
Poti
Poti is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near the site of the ancient Greek colony of Phasis, the city has become a major port city and industrial center since the early 20th century. It is also...
. The cement factory and civilian area in Kaspi were also reportedly damaged by Russian air-raids.
From 19 August onwards the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) released a series of detailed satellite maps of the regions affected by the war via its Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT
UNOSAT
UNOSAT is the United Nations Institute for Training and Research Operational Satellite Applications Programme, implemented in co-operation with the European Organization for Nuclear Research...
). All damage is assessed from satellite images (with a resolution of up to 60 cm), however it is not independently validated on the ground. For Tskhinvali, UNOSAT reports 230 (5.5% of the total) of buildings either destroyed or severely damaged. In the villages to the north of Tskhinvali (controlled by Georgia previous to the war) between 5.4% and 51.9% of the total buildings were affected. Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
(HRW) used the images to support the claim that widespread torching of ethnic Georgian villages by Ossetian militia had occurred inside South Ossetia. With regard to the city of Poti, UNOSAT provided imagery that witnesses a total of 6 Georgian naval vessels either "partially or completely submerged". "No other damage to physical infrastructure or vessel-related oil spills" were detected.
Interfax.ru reported that retreating Georgian forces mined civilian infrastructure in South Ossetia, including some private house basements that civilians used to hide in during the Georgian offensive.
Many countries and institutions promised reconstruction aid for the affected regions
Reconstruction efforts after the 2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 South Ossetia war caused major infrastructural and economical damage in Georgian, South Ossetian and Abkhazian territory. Many countries promised reconstruction aid to the affected regions.- Georgia :...
.
Responsibility for the war and motives
Even before the war ended, the question of responsibility for the armed conflict emerged, with the warring parties taking different positions. In response, several international organisations conducted investigations, including a large EU fact finding mission. The majority of experts, monitors and ambassadors agreed that war was started by Georgia shelling Tskhinvali, but Russia responded with disproportionate measures. Tagliavini commission concluded that while Georgia could have responded to separatist attacks, it could not justify full scale attack on Tskhinvali.Independent international fact-finding mission
An independent international fact-finding mission headed by Swiss diplomat Heidi TagliaviniHeidi Tagliavini
Heidi Tagliavini is a Swiss diplomat noted for her service with international aid and peacekeeping missions; a 2003 profile in the monthly magazine of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung called her "Switzerland's outstanding diplomat"...
was established by the EU to determine the causes of the war. The commission was given a budget of €1.6 million and also incorporated earlier reports by the OSCE, HRW and other organisations.
The Report stated that conflict started "with a massive Georgian artillery attack...against the town of Tskhinvali and the surrounding areas, launched in the night of 7 to 8 August 2008", but was "...mere culmination of series of provocations..." and that all sides share responsibility.
The commission found that all parties violated international law during the conflict. While the report acknowledged the presence of some non-peacekeeping Russian troops in South Ossetia, their presence did not justify the initial Georgian attack. The EU Report found that the Georgian actions were disproportionate as a response to low level attacks by South Ossetian forces.
The report also stated that "the use of force by Georgia against Russian peacekeeping forces in Tskhinvali in the night of 7/8 August 2008 would be contrary to international law". The report said that "if the Russian peacekeepers were attacked," then "the immediate [Russian] reaction in defense of Russian peacekeepers" would be justified, as "Russia had the right to defend its peacekeepers, using military means proportionate to the attack" (the report did not have facts to substantiate the claimed attack on the peacekeepers, but found it "likely" that Russian PKF casualties occurred). The later, second, part of Russian actions, is characterised as "the invasion of Georgia by Russian armed forces reaching far beyond the administrative boundary of South Ossetia", and is considered to be "beyond the reasonable limits of defence". With respect to the war's second theater, the report found the Abkhaz/Russian attack on the Kodori Gorge was not justified under international law.
Combatants' positions
Georgia first claimed that its attack responded to Ossetian shelling of Georgian villages, and that the aim of the attack was to "restore constitutional order" in South Ossetia. Later, Saakashvili said the aim of the Georgian attack was to counter a Russian invasion. During a United Nations Security Council meeting on 8 August Georgia said that the first Russian troops entered South Ossetia at 05:30 am on 8 August. In a decree ordering the general mobilisation, which was published on 9 August, Saakashvili noted that the Russian troops had advanced through the Roki tunnel on 8 August, which was after the Georgian attack. The Georgian government later changed its position, saying that around 11:30 p.m. on 7 August intelligence information was received that 150 Russian army vehicles had entered Georgian territory through the Roki Tunnel. In an interview with Der Spiegel, Saakashvili said "we wanted to stop the Russian troops before they could reach Georgian villages. When our tanks moved toward Tskhinvali, the Russians bombed the city. They were the ones – not us – who reduced Tskhinvali to rubble." Georgia released intercepted telephone calls purporting to show that part of a Russian armoured regiment crossed into the separatist enclave of South Ossetia nearly a full day before Georgia's attack on the capital, Tskhinvali, late on August 7. However, in a later article published on 6 November, The New York Times said that "neither Georgia nor its Western allies have as yet provided conclusive evidence that Russia was invading the country or that the situation for Georgians in the Ossetian zone was so dire that a large-scale military attack was necessary" and that the phone intercepts published by Georgia did not show the Russian column’s size, composition or mission, and that "there has not been evidence that it was engaged with Georgian forces until many hours after the Georgian bombardment."Russia says it acted to defend Russian citizens in South Ossetia, and its own peacekeepers stationed there. The Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia suffered casualties during the initial Georgian artillery barrage on Tskhinvali and were besieged by Georgian troops for two days until a Russian unit broke through to their camp and started evacuating the wounded at 5 a.m. on 9 August. According to a senior Russian official, the first Russian combat unit was ordered to move through the Roki Tunnel at around dawn of 8 August well after the Georgian attack had begun. Defending Russia's decision to launch attacks on uncontested Georgia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
Sergey Lavrov
Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov is the Foreign Minister of Russia. Prior to that, Lavrov was a Soviet diplomat and Russia's ambassador to the United Nations from 1994 to 2004. Lavrov speaks Russian, English, French and Sinhala....
has said that Russia had no choice but to target the military infrastructure being used to sustain the Georgian offensive. Initially, Russia went as far as accusing Georgia of committing genocide against Ossetians, noting that Georgia codenamed their attack "Operation Clear Field"
The independent EU commission found no evidence for the alleged genocide and ruled the extension of operations into uncontested Georgia illegal. Russia codenamed its operation "Operation Forcing Georgia to peace".
South Ossetia's government in Tskhinvali said that it called for Russian help once the Georgian bombardment of their capital city, Tskhinvali, started, in order to prevent genocide and was relieved when the 58th Army intervened to assist against, what Ossetians called "the most frightful fire". A Latin American journalist, Raul Fajardo who was visiting South Ossetia, stated: "I am confident that if it had not been for Russia and the courage of the Ossetian soldiers who defended their homeland, mankind would have regretted today the genocide of the Ossetian people, the irretrievable loss of the people with a unique history, traditions and culture".
The South Ossetian government further called into question Georgia's assertion that Russian Forces were bombing Tskhinvali, because the South Ossetian Minister of Defence, Vasiliy Lunev, was in command of the Russian Army after the wounding of Russian General Anatoly Khrulyov. South Ossetia stated that Saakashvili's brutal attack on their country is simply a continuation of Georgia's aggressive behavior, demonstrated in the 1920s, the early 1990s and Saakashvili's feeble attempt in 2004.
International reaction
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
.
American president George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
warned Russia: "Bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century." The US Embassy in Georgia, describing the Matthew Bryza
Matthew Bryza
Matthew James Bryza is a United States diplomat. Currently serves as the United States Ambassador to Azerbaijan.-Education:...
press-conference, called the war an "incursion by one of the world’s strongest powers to destroy the democratically elected government of a smaller neighbor".
Bloomberg reports that "George W. Bush’s national security team considered launching air strikes to halt the invasion" on the Roki Tunnel
Roki Tunnel
The Roki Tunnel is a mountain tunnel of the Transkam road through the Greater Caucasus Mountains, north of the village Upper Roka. It is the only road joining North Ossetia-Alania in the Russian Federation into South Ossetia, a breakaway republic of Georgia...
that served as Russia’s main supply line and other targets on 11 August, but no official argued in favor of use of force. The meeting produced "a clear sense around the table that almost any military steps could lead to a confrontation with Moscow," according to Ronald D. Asmus
Ronald D. Asmus
Ronald Dietrich Asmus was an United States diplomat and political analyst. He, as U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs , was instrumental in the expansion of NATO to include former members of the Eastern bloc and acted as a leading policy designer in the U.S.–Europe...
, former deputy assistant secretary of state in the Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
administration and present Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
office head of the German Marshall Fund
German Marshall Fund
The German Marshall Fund of the United States is a nonpartisan American public policy and grantmaking institution dedicated to promoting greater cooperation and understanding between North America and Europe....
. Instead, Bush opted for a softer option, but one that carried an implicit threat: he chose to send humanitarian supplies to Georgia by military, rather than civilian, aircraft.
An independent report, commissioned by the Council of the European UnionCouncil of the European Union
The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...
, was prepared by a group of 30 European military, legal and history experts under the head of the Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini
Heidi Tagliavini
Heidi Tagliavini is a Swiss diplomat noted for her service with international aid and peacekeeping missions; a 2003 profile in the monthly magazine of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung called her "Switzerland's outstanding diplomat"...
. The report states that the war was started by the Georgian attack "that was not justified by international law". The report said the commission found no evidence for Georgia's claims of being invaded by Russia prior to launching an attack on South Ossetia, but confirmed that units of Russian regular troops, mercenaries, and volunteers had entered South Ossetia before the Georgian attack. However, the report said that Georgia's response was unjustified, and that Russia had a right to intervene in defense of its peacekeepers. The report, however, states that the Russian reaction to the Georgian attack was disproportionate, and found some actions on the Russian side to have been illegal, and found no evidence of an attempted genocide by Georgia against Ossetians, as claimed by Russia, but confirmed that Ossetian militia ethnically cleansed Georgians during and after the conflict, and noted that Russia failed to stop them. The report also claims that President Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian politician, the third and current President of Georgia and leader of the United National Movement Party.Involved in the national politics since 1995, Saakashvili became president on 25 January 2004 after President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned in a November 2003...
ordered the attack despite warnings from the United States not to provoke military confrontation with Russia. Citing the report of Council of the European Union, it says "it was Georgia that triggered the war when it attacked Tskhinvali with heavy artillery on the night of 7 and 8 August 2008. None of the explanations given by the Georgian authorities in order to provide some form of legal justification for the attack offered a valid explanation. In particular, to the best of the mission's knowledge there was no massive Russian military invasion under way that had to be stopped by Georgian military forces shelling Tskhinvali.".
British Foreign Minister David MilibandDavid Miliband
David Wright Miliband is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for South Shields since 2001, and was the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2007 to 2010. He is the elder son of the late Marxist theorist Ralph Miliband...
, after being informed of the Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
and BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
findings of possible war crimes committed by Georgia, apparently hardened his language towards Georgia, calling its actions "reckless". But he also added that "the Russian response was reckless and wrong".
The president of Ukraine, Viktor YushchenkoViktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
, said he intended to negotiate increasing the rent on the Russian naval base at Sevastopol in the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
. A controversy arose over how Ukraine should respond to the Ossetia war, which contributed to the 2008 Ukrainian political crisis
2008 Ukrainian political crisis
The 2008 Ukrainian political crisis started after President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc withdrew from the governing coalition following a vote on a bill to limit the President's powers in which the Prime Minister's Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko voted with the opposition...
.
France and Germany took an intermediate position, refraining from naming a culprit while calling for an end of hostilities. Italian Minister of Foreign AffairsItalian Minister of Foreign Affairs
As in most countries, in Italy the Minister of Foreign Affairs, which is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is one of the most important ministerial positions...
Franco Frattini stated "We cannot create an anti-Russia coalition in Europe, and on this point we are close to Putin's position".
The President of Belarus, Alexander LukashenkoAlexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has been serving as the President of Belarus since 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko worked as director of a state-owned agricultural farm. Under Lukashenko's rule, Belarus has come to be viewed as a state whose conduct is out of line...
stated that "Russia acted calmly, wisely and beautifully". Lukashenko also offered to send 2,000 Ossetian children to Belorussian schools.
Recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia by the Russian Federation
Federal Assembly of Russia
The Federal Assembly of Russia is the legislature of the Russian Federation, according to the Constitution of Russian Federation, 1993...
unanimously voted to urge President Medvedev to recognise
Diplomatic recognition
Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral political act with domestic and international legal consequences, whereby a state acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state...
Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. On 26 August 2008, Medvedev agreed, signing a decree officially recognising the two entities, and in a televised address to the Russian people expressed his opinion that recognising the independence of the two republics "represents the only possibility to save human lives." Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
recognised the republics on 5 September 2008. In January 2009, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
said it would make a decision on recognising South Ossetia and Abkhazia on 2 April, but the European Union demanded that Belarus not recognise the republics and threatened to cancel Belarus' invitation to its Eastern Partnership programme. According to Peter Rutland, the EU has rewarded the Belarusian President Lukashenko for his non-recognition of the republics by suspending the travel ban for top Belarusian officials that had been imposed in 2004.
The unilateral recognition by Russia was met by condemnation from NATO, the OSCE Chairman, the Presidency of the Council of the European Union
Presidency of the Council of the European Union
The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is the responsibility for the functioning of the Council of the European Union that rotates between the member states of the European Union every six months. The presidency is not a single president but rather the task is undertaken by a national...
, the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
, Foreign Ministers of the G7, and the government of Ukraine because of the violation of Georgia's territorial integrity, and United Nations Security Council resolutions
United Nations resolutions on Abkhazia
220px|thumb|United Nations map of AbkhaziaThe Security Council of the United Nations passed 32 resolutions where it recognizes Abkhazia as an integral part of Georgia and supports its territorial integrity according to the principles of the international law...
. Russia sought support for its recognition from the states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (the biggest members are Russia and China). However, because of concerns about their own separatist regions in states of the SCO, especially in China, the SCO did not back the recognition. According to Alexei Vlassov from Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
, even Russia's closest allies did not show any willingness to support Moscow.
On 10 September 2009 President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
announced Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
recognises Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states, making it a third UN member to support South Ossetian independence. On 15 December 2009 Nauru
Nauru
Nauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just...
recognized and established diplomatic relations with Abkhazia.
As of 2011, only six states have recognized Abkhazia and 5 states have recognized South Ossetia as sovereign states, respectively.
Severance of diplomatic relations between Georgia and Russia
Georgia has rejected this move outright as an annexationAnnexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
of its territory. In response to Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Georgian government announced that the country cut all diplomatic relations with Russia.
Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
had already closed its embassy right after the beginning of 2008 South Ossetia war, before diplomatic relations between the two countries ended.
Media
Cyber-warfare
Cyberwarfare refers to politically motivated hacking to conduct sabotage and espionage. It is a form of information warfare sometimes seen as analogous to conventional warfare although this analogy is controversial for both its accuracy and its political motivation.Government security expert...
fuelled claims of distributed denial of service, censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
, propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
, and disinformation
Disinformation
Disinformation is intentionally false or inaccurate information that is spread deliberately. For this reason, it is synonymous with and sometimes called black propaganda. It is an act of deception and false statements to convince someone of untruth...
from all sides, and restricted access for journalists made it difficult to verify the allegations. The Georgian government stopped translation of Russian TV channels and blocked access to Russian websites, during the war and its aftermath, limiting news coverage in Georgia. Georgian, Russian, South Ossetian, and Azerbaijani websites were attacked by hackers, causing a breakdown of local servers.
According to Nicolai N. Petro
Nicolai N. Petro
Nicolai N. Petro is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island specializing in Russian Affairs. Dr. Petro received a B.A summa cum laude in history in 1980, an M.A...
, Professor of Politics at the University of Rhode Island
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...
, Western media coverage of the war was biased at first, but became more balanced in November, 2008, when two OSCE officials Ryan Grist
Ryan Grist
Dr.Ryan Grist is a former British Army Captain who was in charge of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe monitors in Georgia during the breakout of the 2008 South Ossetia war. He is a veteran of military and diplomatic missions from Northern Ireland to Bosnia,the Middle East,...
and Stephen Young confirmed the Russian version of events — that the Georgian attack was unprovoked and indiscriminate. Professor Petro said that initial impressions conveyed by respected news outlets tend to linger on, even if the story later changes radically, and "it is therefore not surprising that American pundits and politicians continue to refer to the events of last August as 'Russian aggression,' even though subsequent reporting has debunked this as a myth."
NATO reaction in the Black Sea
NATO increased its naval presence in the Black Sea significantly,with ships docking in Georgian ports, and, according to the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, delivering humanitarian aid
Operation Assured Delivery
Operation Assured Delivery was the United States Armed Forces' logistical support to humanitarian aid efforts in Georgia following the 2008 South Ossetia war. The operation provided medical supplies, shelter, food and personal hygiene items for the civilian population of Georgia.-U.S. Air Force:As...
. NATO stressed that the increased presence in the Black Sea was not related to the current tensions and that the vessels were conducting routine visits and carrying out pre-planned naval exercises.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev did not address NATO directly but questioned the claim that ships going to Georgia were only rendering humanitarian assistance and alleged delivery of military support. Russian General Anatoly Nogovitsyn reminded NATO of the limitations on the number of vessels allowed in the Black Sea, under the 1936 Montreux convention
Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Turkish Straits
The Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits was a 1936 agreement that gives Turkey control over the Bosporus Straits and the Dardanelles and regulates military activity in the region. The Convention gives Turkey full control over the Straits and guarantees the free passage of...
, and warned Western nations against violating the Convention.
According to political analyst Vladimir Socor
Vladimir Socor
Vladimir Socor is a political analyst of East European affairs for the Jamestown Foundation and its Eurasia Daily Monitor, currently residing in Munich, Germany...
, the United States maintained an uninterrupted naval presence in the Black Sea, which is constrained by the Montreux Convention's limitations on naval tonnage and the duration of naval visits, and rotated its ships in the Black Sea at intervals consistent with that convention.
Combatants
Military equipment
| Type |  Georgia |
 Russia |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deployed | Lost or captured by Russia | Deployed | Lost or captured by Georgia | ||
| Armoured vehicles | Tanks | 80 T-72 T-72 The T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered production in 1970. It is developed directly from Obyekt-172, and shares parallel features with the T-64A... |
5 destroyed, 3 abandoned, 28 captured in total. Georgia claims 18 tanks captured. | 5 T-55 T-55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks were a series of main battle tanks designed in the Soviet Union. The first T-54 prototype appeared in March 1945, just before the end of the Second World War. The T-54 entered full production in 1947 and became the main tank for armored units of the Soviet Army, armies of... 29 T-62 T-62 The T-62 is a Soviet main battle tank, a further development of the T-55. Its 115 mm gun was the first smoothbore tank gun in use.The T-62 was produced between 1961 and 1975. It became a standard tank in the Soviet arsenal, partly replacing the T-55, although that tank continued to be... , 86 T-72B, 30 T-72BM |
One T-72BM and one T-55 reported destroyed, several tanks damaged. |
| BMP | 138 BMP, BTR, and Otokar Cobra Otokar Cobra The Cobra is a wheeled armoured vehicle developed by Turkish firm Otokar, using some components from the American HMMWV. It was first delivered to the Turkish Army in 1997 and most recently, won a contract from a buyer for APV and 4X4 unarmored tactical vehicles.-Survivability:The monocoque steel... |
15 BMPs captured. Several Otokar Cobras captured or destroyed in addition to a number of army pickups, Landrover jeeps and KRAZ transport trucks. | BMP-1 BMP-1 The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty 1 , meaning "infantry fighting vehicle". The BMP-1 was the world's first mass-produced infantry fighting vehicle... , BMP-2 BMP-2 The BMP-2 is a second-generation, amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following the BMP-1 of the 1960s.... , BTR-80 BTR-80 BTR-80 is an 8x8 wheeled armoured personnel carrier designed in the Soviet Union. Production started in 1986 and replaced the previous versions, BTR-60 and BTR-70 in the Soviet army. -Description:The Soviets based the BTR-80 on the BTR-70 APC... |
30 of 35 vehicles of Lt.General Khrulyov's Anatoly Khrulyov Lieutenant General Anatoly Khrulyov is a Russian general who was the commander of the Russian 58th Army in South Ossetia during the 2008 South Ossetia War. He was wounded when his military column moving into Tskhinvali was destroyed by Georgian special forces on 9 August 2008.- References :... mechanized VDV group destroyed. Numerous Russian MC vehicles including BMP-1 and BMP-2 during a Georgian tank assault destroyed in Tskhinavali. Most Ossetian armour in Tskhinvali captured and then destroyed. |
|
| Artillery | 114 total: 24 SpGH DANA 72 2A18 D-30, 12 2S3 Akatsiya 2S3 Akatsiya SO-152 is a Soviet 152.4 mm self-propelled artillery developed in 1968. It was a response to the American 155 mm M109. The development started in 1967 according to the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of USSR from July 4, 1967. In 1968 the SO-152 was completed and in 1971 entered... , 6 2S7 Pion 2S7 Pion The 2S7 Pion or Malka is a Soviet self-propelled gun. "2S7" is its GRAU designation.It was identified for the first time in 1975 in the Soviet army and so was called M-1975 by NATO , whereas its official designation is SO-203... |
4 SpGH DANA captured and 2 2S7 Pion captured, several towed guns and mortars captured. | 100 total: 68 2S3 Akatsiya 2S3 Akatsiya SO-152 is a Soviet 152.4 mm self-propelled artillery developed in 1968. It was a response to the American 155 mm M109. The development started in 1967 according to the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of USSR from July 4, 1967. In 1968 the SO-152 was completed and in 1971 entered... and 32 2S19 MSTA-S |
several towed guns lost | |
| Rocket launchers | 27 BM-21 Grad, some LAR-160 LAR-160 The LAR-160 is a light artillery rocket with a 160mm calibre and a range of 45 km, from a multiple rocket launcher.It is manufactured by Israel Military Industries... , and a battery of RM-70 RM-70 The RM-70 multiple rocket launcher is a Czechoslovak army version and the heavier variant of the BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher, providing enhanced performance over its parent artillery system that was introduced in 1971 .- Overview :RM-70 was developed in Czechoslovakia as a successor for... |
none | 30 BM-21 Grad, 8 BM-30 BM-30 The BM-30 Smerch or 9A52 is a Soviet heavy multiple rocket launcher. The system is designed to defeat personnel, armored, and soft-skinned targets in concentration areas, artillery batteries, command posts and ammunition depots. It was created in the early 1980s and entered service in the Soviet... |
1 separatist BM-21 Grad destroyed, all Ossetian artillery pieces captured or destroyed | |
| Anti-aircraft systems | Buk-M1 (1–2 battalions), Osa-AK (8 units), Osa-AKM (6–10 units), Tor-M1 | Several Buk-M1 and OSA-AK systems captured or destroyed | none | ||
| Combat aircraft | 9 Su-25, 7 L-29, some AN-2 Mi-8 Mil Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. The Mi-8 is the world's most-produced helicopter, and is used by over 50 countries. Russia is the largest operator of the Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopter.... , Mil Mi-24 Mil Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 is a large helicopter gunship and attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for 8 passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and operated since 1972 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and by over thirty other nations.In NATO circles the export... |
one Sukhoi Su-25 Sukhoi Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 is a single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by the Sukhoi Design Bureau. It was designed to provide close air support for the Soviet Ground Forces. The first prototype made its maiden flight on 22 February 1975... claimed by South Ossetians to have been downed, two L-39, one AN-2, and four helicopters destroyed on the ground. |
Su-24, Su-25, Mi-24, Su-27, Tu-22M3 | 2 Su-24, 3 Su-25, 1 Tu-22 and one Mi-24 shot down. 8 aircrafts lost in total, several damaged. | |
| Ballistic missiles | none | none | 15 Tochka-U (SS-21), 2 Iskander (SS-26) launched | none | |
| Small Arms | AK-74 AK-74 The AK-74 is an assault rifle developed in the early 1970s in the Soviet Union as the replacement for the earlier AKM... , M-4 M4 Carbine The M4 carbine is a family of firearms tracing its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 designed by Eugene Stoner and made by ArmaLite. It is a shorter and lighter variant of the M16A2 assault rifle, with 80% parts commonality.It is a gas-operated,... , TAR-21, AK-47 AK-47 The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year... , Glock 19, Sig P226 SIG P226 The SIG P226 is a full-sized, service-type pistol made by SIG Sauer. It is chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum, .40 S&W, .357 SIG, and .22 Long Rifle. It is essentially the same basic design of the SIG P220, but developed to use higher capacity, staggered-column magazines in place of the... , G36 Heckler & Koch G36 The Heckler & Koch G36 is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch in Germany as a replacement for the 7.62mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997, replacing the G3... , SVD rifle, Barrett M82 |
1,728 small arms captured | AK-74M, AK-47 AK-47 The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year... , AKM AKM The AKM is a 7.62mm assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is an upgraded version of the AK-47 rifle and was developed in the 1950s.... , AS Val AS Val The AS "Val" is a Soviet designed assault rifle featuring an integrated suppressor.... , OTs-14, VSS Vintorez VSS Vintorez The VSS , also called the Vintorez , is a silent sniper rifle developed in the late 1980s by TsNIITochMash and manufactured by the Tula Arsenal... , PP-19 Bizon, MP-443 Grach MP-443 Grach Yarygin PYa, MP-443 Grach |rook]]) is the latest Russian standard military-issue side arm. It was developed in response to Russian military trials, which began in 1993. In 2003, it was adopted as a standard sidearm for all branches of Russian military and law enforcement, alongside GSh-18 and SPS... , SVD rifle, RPK-74, PKM PK machine gun The PK is a 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun designed in the Soviet Union and currently in production in Russia. The PK machine gun was introduced in the 1960s and replaced the SGM and RPD machine guns in Soviet service... , PKP Pecheneg Pecheneg machine gun PKP "Pecheneg" is a Russian machine gun chambered for the 7.62 x 54 mm round. It is a modernised PK machine gun. The Pecheneg is said to be more accurate than all its predecessors due to a heavier, non-removable forced air cooling barrel with radial cooling ribs and a handle which eliminates the... |
Several weapons cages seized and destroyed | |
Georgia
According to a U.S. military trainer, the Americans had trained Georgian soldiers with M4 carbinesM4 Carbine
The M4 carbine is a family of firearms tracing its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 designed by Eugene Stoner and made by ArmaLite. It is a shorter and lighter variant of the M16A2 assault rifle, with 80% parts commonality.It is a gas-operated,...
, but when the fighting started the Georgian regulars went back to using AK-74
AK-74
The AK-74 is an assault rifle developed in the early 1970s in the Soviet Union as the replacement for the earlier AKM...
s and AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
s, the only weapons they trusted and had sufficient stocks of ammunition for. Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i companies supplied UAVs, night-vision equipment, anti-aircraft equipment, ammunition and electronic systems as well as advanced tactical training.
U.S. analysts mention that the air defense was "one of the few effective elements of the country's military" and credit the SA-11 Buk-1M with shooting down a Tupolev-22MR recon and contributing to the losses of the 3 Su-25s. The view was mirrored by independent Russian analysis and by Russia's deputy chief of General Staff, Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, who said the Russian-made Tor and Buk anti-aircraft missile systems that Georgia had bought from Ukraine were responsible for the downings of 4 Russian aircraft in the war. A Russian assessment reported by Roger McDermott found that Russian losses would have been significantly higher had the Georgians not abandoned a portion of their SAM systems in western Georgia. Georgia also possessed Israeli-made Spyder-SR short-range self-propelled anti-aircraft systems, according to some reports. The Georgian air defence early warning and command control tactical system was connected to a NATO Air Situation Data Exchange (ASDE) through Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, allowing Georgia to receive data directly from the unified NATO air-defense system.
Georgia has said that its principal vulnerabilities, which proved decisive, were its comparative weakness to Russian air power and its inability to communicate effectively in combat. Konstantin Makienko of CAST saw inadequate pilot training as the main reason behind the low efficiency of Georgian air raids. The Georgian Air Force provided heavy air support in the opening hours, but played a minimal role throughout the rest of the conflict, though it managed to fly sorties against Russian forces until 11 August. According to Batu Kutelia, Georgia's first deputy defence minister, in the future Georgia will need a very sophisticated, multi-layered air-defense system to defend all its airspace. However, Western military officers who have experience working with Georgian military forces suggest that Georgia's military shortfalls were serious and too difficult to change merely by upgrading equipment. According to an article published in the New York Times on 3 September, "Georgia's Army fled ahead of the Russian Army's advance, turning its back and leaving Georgian civilians in the enemy's path. Its planes did not fly after the first few hours of contact. Its navy was sunk in the harbor, and its patrol boats were hauled away by Russian trucks on trailers."
Georgia's logistical preparations were poor and its units interfered with each other in the field. During the initial Georgian offensive, a well-executed Georgian attack captured most of Tskhinvali and South Ossetia, and special forces successfully ambushed the Russian advance column, but throughout the following days, Georgian forces were dislodged from South Ossetia by a fierce Russian and Ossetian counteroffensive, largely relying on artillery and air support. Georgian Naval Forces were defeated with the loss of a coast guard cutter during a naval skirmish off Abkhazia. During the Russian and Abkhaz offensive, Georgian forces only put up only minimal resistance before withdrawing, having inflicted and suffered light casualties. Communications systems failed in the mountains and had to be replaced by communication via mobile phones. Planning was similarly lacking. According to Giorgi Tavdgiridze, there were no calculations on how to block the Roki Tunnel, connecting North and South Ossetia. Furthermore, the arrival of 10,000 Georgian reservists to Gori on 9 August was poorly organized: not given specific targets, the reservists returned to Tbilisi on August 10. During Russian and Ossetian raids into Georgian territory, the Georgian Army offered no resistance, and retreated to defend Tbilisi. It left behind some of its military equipment, which was captured by the Russians. After Russian forces occupied Poti
Poti
Poti is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near the site of the ancient Greek colony of Phasis, the city has become a major port city and industrial center since the early 20th century. It is also...
, they sunk or towed away all naval boats still in harbor: The rest fled to Batumi
Batumi
Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...
. According to their American trainers, the Georgian soldiers did not lack "warrior spirit", but were not ready for combat. Georgia lacked well-trained and educated officers in the higher ranks, and neither Saakashvili nor his Defence Minister Davit Kezerashvili had any military experience, and yet they both still commanded troops in battle.
Russia
The Russian Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C³I)C4ISTAR
In military usage, a number of abbreviations in the format C followed by additional letters are used, based on expanded versions of the abbreviation C2 - command and control.C2I stands for command, control, and intelligence....
performed poorly during the conflict. The communication systems used were obsolete, resulting in one case where the commander of the 58th army was reported to have communicated with his forces in the midst of combat via a satellite phone borrowed from a journalist. Due to the absence of satellite-targeting
GLONASS
GLONASS , acronym for Globalnaya navigatsionnaya sputnikovaya sistema or Global Navigation Satellite System, is a radio-based satellite navigation system operated for the Russian government by the Russian Space Forces...
, precision-guided munitions could not be used (US controlled GPS was unavailable since the war zone was blacked out). Furthermore, the Russian defense minister had failed to authorize the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, and an editorial in RIA Novosti said that Russian forces lacked dependable aerial reconnaissance systems, leading to the use of a Tupolev Tu-22M3 long-range bomber on a reconnaissance mission, where it was subsequently shot down, and all of its crewmembers were killed or captured. Nevertheless, most of the reconnaissance was performed by three Russian reconnaissance battalions, so the need to use a strategic bomber for it was questionable.
A total of three Russian aircraft were shot down during the war, and Georgian air defenses were only driven off or destroyed by ground attacks, as the air force was unable to suppress them. The Russian Air Force was never able to fully stop aerial attacks by the Georgian Air Force, which was still flying sorties against Russian troops on August 11. The RIA Novosti editorial also stated that Russian Su-25 ground attack jets still lacked radar sights, computers for calculating ground-target coordinates and long-range air-to-surface missiles that could be launched outside enemy air-defence areas. Opposition affiliated Russian analyst Konstantin Makienko pointed out the poor performance of the Russian Air Force: "It is totally unbelievable that the Russian Air Force was unable to establish air superiority almost to the end of the five-day war, despite the fact that the enemy had no fighter aviation."
After a close examination of the Russian Air Force's performance, Russian avionics expert Anton Lavrov pointed out that Russian MiG-29s established air superiority within a few hours of Russia's entry, and prevented the Georgian Air Force from supporting their assault on Tskhinvali. The Russians also flew 63 sorties on August 8, mostly by Su-25s when the Georgian Air Defense failed to shoot down a single Russian plane. According to Lavrov, Georgian air defenses failed to shoot down the three Russian Su-25s which were lost, claiming that they were lost to friendly fire, most likely either by "Igla" or "Strela" anti-air missiles. Lavrov asserts that the Tu-22M shot down was not used for scouting: On August 9, a wing of 4 Tu-22Ms completed their bombing run, and for unknown reasons descended from 16,000 to 4,000 meters, where one of them was shot down by a Georgian "Osa" AA missile. As a result, the Russians suspended all Tu-22M sorties for the rest of the war. Georgian air defenses shot down 2 Su-24s: One on August 9, by a Grom-2, another on August 11, by either an Igla or Strela.
There was also confusion surrounding the nature of the command relationship between the North Caucasus Military District commander and the Air Force. The Air Force operations were being directed by Air Force commander-in-chief Colonel-General Aleksandr Zelin
Aleksandr Zelin
Alexander Nikolayevich Zelin is the current Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force since May 9, 2007. Zelin holds the Air Force rank of colonel-general....
, who commanded the air forces from his office on his mobile phone, without entering the command post. He decided all matters related to the conduct of air operations and did not even consider it necessary to invite his air defense assistants to a meeting. Furthermore, the Air Force was accused of failing to support ground combat operations.
Commenting on the performance of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Swedish analysts Carolina Vendil Pallin and Fredrik Westerlund noted, that although the fleet never met any serious opposition, it still showed that it is a force to be reckoned with. Being able to plan and carry through manoeuvres of the size which were carried out during the war required considerable skills, according to the analysts.
American researchers working for the Heritage foundation praised the comprehensive and systematic planning of the Russian general staff, stating that, the operations "were well prepared and well executed" and that the Russian offensive achieved a strategic surprise. A Reuters analyst described Russia's army in light of the conflict as "strong but flawed." According to him, the war showed that Russia's "armed forces have emerged from years of neglect as a formidable fighting force, but revealed important deficiencies". The weaknesses, especially in missiles and air capability, leave Russia still lagging behind the image of a world-class military power it projects to the rest of the world. In contrast to the weak conscript soldiers used in Chechnya
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
, Russia's force in Georgia was largely composed of professional soldiers. Reuters reporters on the ground in Georgia saw disciplined, well-equipped troops. Ruslan Pukhov
Ruslan Pukhov
Ruslan Pukhov is a prominent Russian defense analyst and director of the Moscow-based Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies.-Overview:...
, director of Russia's Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, stated that "the victory over the Georgian army should become for Russia not a cause for euphoria and excessive joy, but serve to speed up military transformations in Russia." Roger McDermott speculated that the (compared to earlier Russian conflicts) high level of criticism in the media after the conflict is part of "an orchestrated effort by the government to “sell” reform to the military and garner support among the populace."
However, the Russian Army's performance on the ground has come under scrutiny. Although the majority of soldiers deployed in the conflict zone were professionals, some were conscripts. General Vladimir Boldyrev
Vladimir Boldyrev
General of the Army Vladimir Anatolyevich Boldyrev was Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces .Boldyrev was born on 5 January 1949 in Krasnoyarsky, Volgograd Oblast...
admitted in September 2008 that many of the professional soldiers were no better trained than conscripts. Some of the soldiers deployed were servicemen from special ethnic minorities' units, mostly Chechens from the Vostok and Zapad Battalions
Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad
Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad were two Spetznaz units of Russian military intelligence based in Chechnya. The overwhelming majority of personnel were ethnic Chechens, while the command personnel were mixed Russian and Chechens....
. According to Georgian refugees, these servicemen showed little discipline or respect for the laws of war
Laws of war
The law of war is a body of law concerning acceptable justifications to engage in war and the limits to acceptable wartime conduct...
. Much of the ground fighting was carried out by Russian Airborne Troops, who could not be airlifted behind Georgian lines due to the Russian Air Force's inability to suppress Georgian air defenses. The 58th Army's advance column, led by General Anatoly Khrulyov
Anatoly Khrulyov
Lieutenant General Anatoly Khrulyov is a Russian general who was the commander of the Russian 58th Army in South Ossetia during the 2008 South Ossetia War. He was wounded when his military column moving into Tskhinvali was destroyed by Georgian special forces on 9 August 2008.- References :...
, ran directly into a Georgian ambush as it entered South Ossetia on 9 August, due to poor intelligence. Only five of the thirty vehicles in the convoy survived, and the column took heavy casualties, including General Khrulyov himself, who was wounded in the leg. Many Russian ground units were insufficiently supplied with ammunition, which led to additional losses.
Georgian order of battle
The Georgian army consisted of 4 regular infantryInfantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s, plus a fifth brigade in the process of formation. One artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
brigade was stationed at Gori and Khoni and a tank battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
was also stationed at Gori.
According to International Institute for Strategic Studies
International Institute for Strategic Studies
The International Institute for Strategic Studies is a British research institute in the area of international affairs. It describes itself as "the world’s leading authority on political-military conflict"...
, when the war started, the Georgians had amassed ten light infantry battalions of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th infantry brigades as well as special forces and an artillery brigade, in all, about 12,000 troops near the South Ossetian conflict zone. The 4th Brigade carried out the main mission of attempting to capture Tskhinvali, while the 2nd and 3rd Brigades provided support. Of all Georgian military units, the 4th Brigade suffered the heaviest casualties.
The 1st infantry brigade, the only one trained to a NATO level, served in Iraq at the start of the war. Two to three days later the U.S. Air Force airlifted it to Georgia, too late to take part in the Battle of Tskhinvali
Battle of Tskhinvali
The Battle of Tskhinvali was a fight for the city of Tskhinvali, capital of South Ossetia. It was the only major battle in the 2008 South Ossetia War. Georgian ground troops entered the city on early 8 August 2008, after an extensive artillery barrage. Their advance was stopped by South Ossetian...
.
Units Deployed:
- 11th Infantry Battalion,
- 1st Mechanized Battalion
- 1st Artillery Battalion,
- Support units of the I Infantry Brigade
- II Infantry Brigade
- III Infantry Brigade
- IV Infantry Brigade (ex-Interior Ministry Troops)
- V Infantry Brigade (in Abkhazia)
- Separate Light Infantry Battalion
- Joint Artillery Brigade (Equivalent to 2 or 3 Arty Brigades by NATO standards)
- Separate Tank Battalion
- Military Engineering Brigade
- Special Forces Brigade
- National Guard
- Logistic Support Department of the Army
- Air Force
- Naval Force
- Coast Guard
Military instructors and alleged use of foreign mercenaries
At the outbreak of the war 127 U.S. military trainers including 35 civilian contractors were present in Georgia. Additionally 1000 troops from the US, and 10 troops from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine each, had participated in the military exercise "Immediate Response 2008Immediate Response 2008
According to United States European Command,Immediate Response is an annual, bilateral security cooperation exercise conducted between U.S. and NATO and coalition partners...
" which ended only days earlier. Several of these soldiers were still in the country. The United States European Command, EUCOM, stated that neither participated in the conflict. The Russian side made allegations that at least one American citizen fought with Georgian forces, after producing an American passport claimed to be discovered in Georgian fighting positions. The authenticity of the passport was not contested. However, the passport owner
Michael Lee White
Michael Lee White is a Business/English teacher and writer residing in China. The Russian government has implied that he may be a covert agent of the United States or Military Professional Resources involved in the 2008 South Ossetia war, a claim that White House has repeatedly denied.-Biography...
and the US authorities denied the claims, saying the passport was lost elsewhere.
Russo-S. Ossetian and Russo-Abkhaz order of battle
The Russian order of battle involved significant elements of the Russian 58th Army. According to the Centre for Strategic and International StudiesCenter for Strategic and International Studies
The Center for Strategic and International Studies is a bipartisan Washington, D.C., foreign policy think tank. The center was founded in 1962 by Admiral Arleigh Burke and Ambassador David Manker Abshire, originally as part of Georgetown University...
58th Army is one of Russia’s premiere combat formations and boasts more than twice the number of troops, five times the number of tanks, ten times the number of armoured personnel carriers and twelve times the number of combat aircraft as the entire Georgian Armed Forces.
South Ossetian Sector
Initially Present (3,500):
- Military of South OssetiaMilitary of South OssetiaThe Military of South Ossetia is the military of the breakaway republic of South Ossetia, whose independence is recognized by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Nauru but whom Georgia considers to be a Russian-Occupied Territory...
– (2,400): - 1st Ossetian Foot Battalion
- 1st Ossetian Motorized Battalion
- 1st-3rd Ossetian Arty Battalions, (4 D-30, 4 Akatsiya, 4 Gvozdika – apiece)
- 4th Ossetian Arty Battalion (6 BM-21 Grad, 4 MT-12)
- 1st Ossetian SpetzNatz Battalion
- 1st Ossetian Support Battalion
- (Nota Bene: Battalions range from 150-500 men)
Russian Peacekeeping Forces (1,100):
- 600 peacekeepers from the 135th Separate Motorised Rifle Regiment of 58th Army
- 500 North Ossetian peacekeepers under Peacekeeping Battalion "Alania"
Arrived as reinforcements:
58th Army
- Two battalions of the 135th Separate Motorised Rifle Regiment
- 503rd Motorised Rifle Regiment of the 19th Motorised Rifle Division19th Motor Rifle DivisionThe 19th Motor Rifle Division appears to have been formed originally in July 1922 at Tambov in the Moscow Military District as a territorial formation. In 1923 it was awarded the 'Tambov' placename and renamed the 19th Voronezh Rifle Division....
- 693rd Motorised Rifle Regiment of the 19th Motorised Rifle Division
42nd Motorised Rifle Division
- 70th Motorised Rifle Regiment
- 71st Motorised Rifle Regiment
- One company of Special Battalion Vostok
- One company of Special Battalion Zapad
Airborne Troops (VDV):
- 104th and 234th Paratroop Regiments of the 76th Airborne Division76th Airborne Division (Russia)The 76th Guards Air Assault Division is a division of the Russian Airborne Troops based in Pskov.-History:The 76th Air Assault Division was originally established in 1939 as the 157th Rifle Division. On 1 March 1943 it became the 76th Guards Rifle Division...
(PskovPskovPskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
) - Units of 98th Guards Airborne Division98th Guards Airborne DivisionThe 98th Guards Airborne Division is an airborne division of the Russian Airborne Troops, stationed in Ivanovo. It took part in the 2008 South Ossetian War....
(IvanovoIvanovoIvanovo is a city and the administrative center of Ivanovo Oblast, Russia. Population: Ivanovo has traditionally been called the textile capital of Russia. Since most textile workers are women, it has also been known as the "City of Brides"...
)
Units of GRU
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
:
- One Battalion of the SpetsnazSpetsnazSpetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...
of 45th Detached Reconnaissance Regiment45th Detached Reconnaissance Regiment45th Guards Separate Reconnaissance Regiment of VDV is a special reconnaissance and special operations unit within the Russian Airborne Troops, and based in Moscow....
of VDV (Moscow) - Units of the 10th Spetsnaz Brigade
- Units of the 22nd Spetsnaz Brigade
Abkhazian Sector (Up to 9000 men):
- 7th Novorossiysk Air Assault Division
- 76th Pskov Air Assault Divisions
- Elements of the 20th Motorised Rifle Division
- Two battalions of Marines
- units of 131st Separate Motor-Rifle Brigade9th Infantry Division (Soviet Union)The 9th Kursk Infantry Division was created on the 20 July 1918 as one of the first divisions of the Soviet Union during the Russian Civil War. The division was stationed in the Caucasus region, later the Transcaucasian Military District and soon renamed 9th Infantry, and later 9th Rifle division...
(used as peacekeepers) - One Battalion of the SpetsnazSpetsnazSpetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...
of 45th Detached Reconnaissance Regiment45th Detached Reconnaissance Regiment45th Guards Separate Reconnaissance Regiment of VDV is a special reconnaissance and special operations unit within the Russian Airborne Troops, and based in Moscow....
of VDV (Moscow)
- Armed ForcesMilitary of AbkhaziaThe Abkhazian Armed Forces is the military of Abkhazia.The Ministry of Defence and the General Staff of the Abkhazian armed forced were officially created on 12 October 1992, after the outbreak of the 1992-1993 war with Georgia. The basis of the armed forces was formed by the ethnic Abkhaz National...
(land and air forcesAbkhazian Air ForceThe Abkhazian Air Force is a small air force operating from Abkhazia. Few details are available on its formation, but it is reported to have been established by Viyacheslav Eshba based upon several Yak-52 trainer aircraft armed with machine guns...
) of Abkhazia
Theatre aviation
- 4th Air Army4th Air ArmyThe 4th Air Army was a Soviet Air Force formation and from 1992 to 2009 was part of the Russian Air Force. From 1998 the army was designated the 4th Army of Air Forces and Air Defence. It was first established on 22 May 1942 from the Air Forces of the Soviet Southern Front, and fought on the...
- Transport Aviation Units
Equipment losses and cost
In the aftermath of war Reuters cited some StratforStratfor
Strategic Forecasting, Inc., more commonly known as STRATFOR, is a global intelligence company founded in 1996 in Austin, Texas by George Friedman who is the founder, chief intelligence officer, and CEO of the company...
analysts who believed that "Russia has largely destroyed Georgia's war-fighting capability". The Georgian Army lost 150 pieces of military equipment, much of it left behind during the Georgian Army's retreat from Gori and Poti. Out of its 250-strong tank force, 40 T-72s were either destroyed or captured after the ceasefire agreement. It also lost several units of its advanced air-defense systems, though its arsenal of hand-held anti-aircraft missiles remained largely intact. The Georgian Army also lost 1,728 small arms during the conflict. Three Georgian Navy vessels out of the 19 vessel-strong force were sunk in their harbour, Poti, after Russian forces occupied the city, while the rest of the Georgian Navy escaped to Batumi
Batumi
Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...
, and a Georgian Coast Guard patrol cutter was sunk by Russian naval forces off the coast of Abkhazia. Nine rigid-hull inflatables were also towed away by the Russians. Russia estimated that the Georgian Air Force
Georgian Air Force
The Georgian Air Force is the air arm of the Georgian Armed Forces. Currently, it has 2,971 military and civilian personnel, fixed wing aircraft , helicopters of different types and air defense missiles of the "surface-to-air" class. The Air Force was founded in 1991 in the wake of the break-up...
lost three out of its nine Su-25 strike aircraft, two of its seven L-29 jet trainers, an AN-2 cargo plane, and four helicopters. Georgian Defence Minister Davit Kezerashvili stated that Georgia suffered losses of material worth $250 million. According to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian politician, the third and current President of Georgia and leader of the United National Movement Party.Involved in the national politics since 1995, Saakashvili became president on 25 January 2004 after President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned in a November 2003...
, Georgia lost 5% of its military capabilities.
Following the war, the Georgian Army replaced its losses by purchasing large shipments of foreign military equipment, including tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery, firearms, ammunition, military vehicles, missiles, air defense weaponry, and telecommunications equipment, primarily from Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Turkey. The Georgian Navy partially replaced its losses with patrol/fast attack boats from Turkey, and two of the vessels sunk in Poti
Poti
Poti is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near the site of the ancient Greek colony of Phasis, the city has become a major port city and industrial center since the early 20th century. It is also...
harbor were raised and returned to service. All operational naval units were merged with the Georgian Coast Guard. The Georgian Air Force purchased additional unmanned aerial vehicles and two helicopters from Turkey. In August 2010, the Georgian military budget stood at $400 million. The Georgian Armed Forces reached a strength greater than pre-war levels in 2009.
Russia has officially confirmed the loss of three Su-25 strike aircraft and one Tu-22M3 supersonic bomber. Analysts at Moscow Defense Brief give a higher estimate, saying that the overall losses of Russian Air Force in the war amounted to seven aircraft, while Anton Lavrov lists 6 Su-25s, 2 Su-24s and 1 Tu-22M as lost.
According to Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Nezavisimaya Gazeta is a Russian daily newspaper. Published since December 21, 1990.Information ranging from a wide variety of sources, such as reporters, political scientists, historians, art historians, as well as critics are published in the newspaper...
, figures from the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, compiled three days after the war in lieu of official data, place the cost of the five days of war at 12.5 billion rubles (then $508.7 million) for Russia. This includes the cost of the losses of four Russian aircraft which is thought to have been more than 44 million dollars. According to the estimate, no less than 1.2 billion rubles, (50.8 million dollars,) per day, went on fuel.
See also
- 2008–2010 Georgia–Russia crisis#Events in 2009
- Armed Forces of the Russian FederationArmed Forces of the Russian FederationThe Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are the military services of Russia, established after the break-up of the Soviet Union. On 7 May 1992 Boris Yeltsin signed a decree establishing the Russian Ministry of Defence and placing all Soviet Armed Forces troops on the territory of the RSFSR...
- Foreign relations of AbkhaziaForeign relations of AbkhaziaThe Republic of Abkhazia is a self-proclaimed independent state a disputed region which is recognized by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, and Transnistria...
- Foreign relations of Georgia
- Foreign relations of RussiaForeign relations of RussiaThe foreign relations of Russia is the policy of the Russian government by which it guides the interactions with other nations, their citizens and foreign organizations and sets standards of interaction for Russian organizations, corporations and individual citizens towards them...
- Foreign relations of South OssetiaForeign relations of South OssetiaThe Republic of South Ossetia is a self-proclaimed state which is recognized by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, Tuvalu, Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Transnistria...
- Georgia–Russia relationsGeorgia–Russia relationsGeorgia–Russia relations are the relations between Georgia and Russia and between the Georgian and Russian people in particular, lasting from the 18th century....
- International recognition of Abkhazia and South OssetiaInternational recognition of Abkhazia and South OssetiaAbkhazia and South Ossetia are two breakaway republics in the Caucasus with disputed status over whether they are a part of Georgia or sovereign states. The Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of South Ossetia were recognised following the 2008 South Ossetia War between Russia and Georgia, by six...
- Military of GeorgiaMilitary of GeorgiaThe Georgian Armed Forces , is the name of the unified armed forces of Georgia. The Georgian military is a defence force consisting of the Georgian Land Forces, Georgian Air Force and a paramilitary organization Georgian National Guard...
- 5 Days of War, a 20112011 in filmThe year 2011 is notable for containing the release of the most film sequels in a single year, at 27 sequels. The following tables list films that are in production or have completed production and will be released in the United States and Canada at some point in 2011.- Highest-grossing films :...
film depicting the war.
External links
Georgia Georgia Update – service of the Government of Georgia offering updates on recent developmentsRussia On the situation around Abkhazia and South Ossetia @ President of Russia
International EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia EU Fact Finding Mission (Tagliavini report) United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia OSCE Mission to Georgia
Media War in Georgia. International Crisis Group
International Crisis Group
The International Crisis Group is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization whose mission is to prevent and resolve deadly conflicts around the world through field-based analyses and high-level advocacy.-History:...
’s multimedia presentation BBC hub