2008 South Ossetia war
Part of Georgian-Ossetian conflict and Georgian-Abkhazian conflict
Location of Georgia (including the de facto independent provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia) and the Russian part of North Caucasus
Date August 7, 2008 – Location Georgia Result Conflict ongoing, ceasefire currently in effect
Belligerents
Russia Separatist republics: South Ossetia Abkhazia	Georgia
Commanders and leaders
Eduard Kokoity Dmitry Medvedev Anatoly Khrulyov Vladimir Shamanov Marat Kulakhmetov Vyacheslav Borisov Sulim Yamadayev Sergei Bagapsh	Mikheil Saakashvili Davit Kezerashvili Zaza Gogava
Strength
18,000 including reservists;[1] unknown number of volunteers Est. at least 15,000 regulars in Georgia (as of 13/07/08),[2] not including support and rear troops (in Russia and on the sea); unknown number of irregulars, many of them from North Ossetia-Alania 5,000 not including reservists;[3] unknown number of volunteers More than 38,000 total	37,000 regulars, including 2,000 initially in Iraq;[4] unknown number of conscripted reservists and volunteers;[5] unknown number of Georgian Police deployed At least 37,000 total
Casualties and losses
Confirmed by Russia: Unknown Killed: 74 troops Wounded: 171 Missing: 19 [6] 4 aircraft lost[7] Unknown number of losses among the volunteers Unknown Georgian estimates: 400 killed Russian regulars[8]	Confirmed by Georgia: Killed: ~200 soldiers (as of 8/10/08)[9] Health Minister said 175 people died, mainly civilians[10] Russian estimates: 4,000 casualties[8]
Unknown civilian casualties (Russia initially claimed more than 2,000 civilians were killed in South Ossetia,[11] which the Human Rights Watch investigators called "suspicious" and "very doubtful", citing Tskhinvali hospital reports of 273 wounded and 44 dead.[12])
At least 118,000 civilians displaced, including 56,000 refugees from the Georgian city of Gori and 15,000 Georgian refugees from South Ossetia, according to the United Nations refugee agency.[13][14] According to Russia, 30,000 civilians have fled into Russia from South Ossetia (according to the HRW, some 24,000 of which around half may have returned as armed volunteers).[15][16]

The 2008 South Ossetia war formally began on August 7, 2008 with a military attack by Georgia into one of two provinces, South Ossetia, which had undertaken two polls in 1992 showing a popular will for independence,^[17] and Abkhazia, which had declared independence sixteen years previous in 1992.^[18] Neither province had found international acceptance of sovereignty. Russian armed forces quickly responded with a large scale counter-attack in the province and later invaded into Georgia proper. A preliminary cease-fire was arranged by the President-in-Office of the European Union, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, on August 12, and signed by Georgia and Russia on August 15, 2008.

The war involves the country of Georgia, the Russian Federation and the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The war began after a ceasefire agreement between Georgia and South Ossetia broke down, with an escalation of fire exchanges and "volunteers .. arriving in South Ossetia to offer help in the event of Georgian aggression" (citing the 5th August's phrase of the South Ossetian presidential envoy).^[19] Georgia then proceeded to launch a major military offensive in South Ossetia.^[20] In the following battle, the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, was heavily damaged. Starting on the 2nd of August and increasing with the intensifying fighting, a stream of refugees from South Ossetia fled into Russian region of North Ossetia, reaching an estimated 24 000 to 30 000 of the 70 000 overall population.^[21] 11,190 of them returned after the intervention of Russia in the war.^[22] Russia and South Ossetians alleged a civilian death toll of over 2000 early in the conflict.^[23] However the Human Rights Watch investigators have called this estimate "suspicious" and "very doubtful", citing actual hospital reports of 273 wounded and 44 dead.^[24]

The Georgian government said the troops had been sent to end the shelling of Georgian civilians by South Ossetian secessionists.^[25]

Russia responded the next day by large scale bombardment of Georgian military and civilian targets by sending troops and armor into South Ossetia, quickly driving the Georgian troops out of Tskhinvali and later invading Georgia proper as well. The Russian air attack on the Georgian city of Gori, included several civilian apartment buildings. Georgian media reported that scores of civilians were killed in the attack.^[26] The president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili claims that Russia is attempting to cause a regime change to depose the democraticly elected Georgian Government due to Georgia's close relations with Western nations.^[27]

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused Georgia of committing "genocide"^[28] while President Dmitry Medvedev stated that his country's goal was "to force the Georgian side to peace", and that he "must protect lives and the dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are."^[28]The Georgian leader has also appealed to the world for help after accusing Russia of conducting "ethnic cleansing" in his country,^{[29] [30]} claiming that it had depopulated the entire South Ossetia of its Georgian civilians and that almost all Georgian residents of Kodory valley were expelled by the Abkhaz separatists with the aid of the Russian military.^{[citation needed]} The Georgian side has also filed a lawsuit against Russia in the International Court of Justice, claiming Russia, through the separatist authorities in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, violated a convention meant to eliminate racism. ^[31]

Background

Template:Georgia-Russia

South Ossetian interests

The Ossetians are a distinct Iranian ethnic group whose origin lies along the Don River. They came to the Caucasus after they were driven out of their homeland by Mongol invasions in the 13th century. Some of them settled in the territory now known as North Ossetia-Alania (currently part of Russia), and South Ossetia (currently part of Georgia).^[32]

South Ossetia currently has a Georgian ethnic minority of around one fifth (14,000) of the total population (70,000).^[33] The region, which is one and a half times the area of Luxembourg^[34] (roughly 6% of the total territory of Georgia) broke away from Georgia in the 1991–1992 war (in which more than 2,000 people are believed to have died^[35]). The BBC suggests that the South Ossetians wanted their 'Ossetian' ethnic group identity retained and did not want to become citizens of Georgia.^[34] A force with 500 troops each from Russia, North Ossetia-Alania (part of Russia), South Ossetia and Georgia monitored a 1992 truce. In a South Ossetian independence referendum, 2006, held by the secessionist government, full independence was supported by 99% of the voters. A simultaneous alternative referendum held by the pro-Georgian group People of South Ossetia for Peace (or Salvation Union of Ossetians) favored closer ties with Georgia.

Georgian interests

Georgia accuses Russia of the annexation of its internationally recognized territory and installing a puppet government led by Eduard Kokoity and several officials who previously served in the Russian FSB and Army.^{[36][37][38][39]} Sporadic clashes between separatist and Georgian forces have killed dozens of people in the previous few years.

Restoring South Ossetia and Abkhazia (a region with a similar separatist movement) to Georgian control has been a goal of Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili since the Rose Revolution.^[40] Saakashvili proposed a new peace accord, under which South Ossetia would be given "a large degree of autonomy" within a federal state, but leaders of those areas are instead demanding full independence.^[41] Another point of interest for Georgia is the strategic position of South Ossetia along the border with Russia, as the Roki Tunnel, which passes through the Greater Caucasus Mountains, is one of few road routes between Georgia and Russia and would be a critical component in any plan to control the border.

According to the 2007 report of Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Georgia had the highest average growth rate of military spending in the world.^[42] Military expenditures accounted for 5.6-6 per cent of GDP in the last two years.^[42][43] South Ossetian leadership expressed its concerns with Georgia's military build-up however Tbilisi claimed that it was not aimed at the breakaway states of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.^[42] MP Givi Targamadze attributed this to the country's desire to join NATO.^[44] According to the 2008 budget of Georgia defence funding accounted for slightly over 19% of all state spending,^[45] with a further significant increase approved in an extraordinary parliament session on July 15.^[46]

Russian interests

The majority of the residents of South Ossetia are Russian citizens holding Russian passports. According to the BBC, "more than half of South Ossetia's 70,000 citizens are said to have taken up Moscow's offer of a Russian passport,"^[47][32] while a journalist of Deutsche Welle says that "almost all residents have Russian passports."^[48] Russian President Medvedev asserts that 90% of South Ossetia residents possess them. Medvedev cited article 80 the Constitution of the Russian Federation, saying, "According to the Constitution, I must protect the life and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are."

Since the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War, Russian, Georgian, North Ossetian and South Ossetian soldiers have been stationed in and around South Ossetia as peacekeepers under the terms of a 1992 agreement and were monitored by the OSCE mission in Georgia.^[49] The Russian defense ministry said 12 of its peacekeeping troops in South Ossetia had been killed and 30 wounded in the initial Georgian offensive. Russia describes its intervention as a peacekeeping operation to protect its citizens and peacekeepers, and to enforce their peacekeeping mandate in South Ossetia.^[34] Dmitry Medvedev said that it aims to force Georgia to accept peace and restore the status quo, and that it is acting within its peacekeeping mission in South Ossetia, and in line with the mandate issued by the international community.^[50][47] The Russian defense ministry said reinforcements for Russian peacekeepers had been sent to South Ossetia "to help end bloodshed."

Reuters describes the South Ossetian separatist government as "dependent on Russia," which "supplies two thirds of their annual budget," and reports that "Russia's state-controlled gas giant Gazprom is building new gas pipelines and infrastructure" worth hundreds of millions of dollars there.^[41]

According the UK The Daily Telegraph, in 2007 Vladimir Putin announced plans for a $200 billion arms program over the next seven years for the financing of new, modern weapons and ordered military chiefs to 'strengthen the battle-readiness of the army and navy'.^[51] In July, Russia held a major ground exercise just north of Georgia’s border that American analysts described as "exactly what they executed in Georgia just a few weeks later... a complete dress rehearsal."^[52]

NATO's interests

Template:Georgian NATO membership referendum, 2008 NATO members have in the past disagreed whether to enlarge the alliance further eastwards to include Georgia. To build up a case, Georgia conducted in 2008 a Georgian NATO membership referendum, 2008. It was a non-binding, advisory referendum on whether to join NATO and was held in Georgia on January 5, 2008, at the request of the Georgian President, together with an early presidential election and legislative election date referendum.^[53][54] This was announced in a surprise move on November 26, 2007, shortly before Mikheil Saakashvili resigned as President of Georgia for the early presidential elections. The only question of the referendum asked: "Do you want Georgia to become a member of NATO?" According to the official results of Georgia's Central Election Commission, 77% of voters were in favor, and 23% voted against it.^[55]

However, at the 2008 Bucharest summit, to the great disappointment of Georgia, the alliance did not offer a Membership Action Plan(MAP) to Georgia or Ukraine, largely due to the opposition of Germany, France and other European NATO-members who pointed out that Georgia's territorial integrity was de facto not enforced (namely in Abkhazia and South-Ossetia). However, NATO pledged to review the decision in December 2008.^{[citation needed]} Even though Georgia was not offered a MAP, it officially welcomed the decision and said "The decision to accept that we are going forward to an adhesion to NATO was taken and we consider this is a historic success".^[56] Russian President Putin was also pleased about the alliance deciding not to invite Georgia and Ukraine to the Membership Action Plan at least for the time being.^[57]

Timeline of events

South Ossetia and Abkhazia are territories within Georgia that individually declared independence from Georgia and have each been acting in de facto independent capacities since the early 1990s. Neither state has been diplomatically recognised by any member of the United Nations. Georgia has offered limited autonomy to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but both have declined.

Late on August 1, 2008, intense fighting began between Georgian troops and the forces of South Ossetia. Georgia claimed that South Ossetian separatists had shelled Georgian villages in violation of a ceasefire. South Ossetia denied provoking the conflict.^[58][11] On August 3, South Ossetians started to evacuate into Russia and on August 5, Russian ambassador Yuri Popov warned that Russia would intervene if conflict erupted.^[59][60] On August 7, 2008, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili ordered Georgian troops to ceasefire.^[61][62] Despite the declared ceasefire, fighting intensified.^[63][64] Hours after the declaration of the ceasefire, in a televised address, Mikheil Saakashvili vowed to restore Tbilisi's control over what he called the "criminal regime" in South Ossetia and Abkhazia and reinforce order.^[64]

During the night and early morning, Georgia launched a military offensive to surround and capture the capital of separatist Republic of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali.^[65] The heavy shelling left parts of the city in ruins, causing a humanitarian crisis which Russian government sources claimed amounted to genocide. The news of the shelling was extensively covered by Russian media prior to the military reaction that followed, as Russia claimed to have responded in defense of South Ossetians against what they called "a genocide by Georgian forces."^[66][11] Russia claimed up to 2,000 dead in Tskhinvali following the shelling.^[67] The extent of civilian casualties was later disputed in a number of sources.^[68] By morning, Georgia announced that it had surrounded the city and captured eight South Ossetian villages. ^[69] An independent Georgian TV station announced that Georgian military took control of the city^[70]

At Russia’s request, the United Nations Security Council held consultations at 11pm (US EST time), followed by an open meeting at 1.15am (US EST time), with Georgia attending. During consultations, Council members discussed a press statement that called for an end to hostilities. They were unable, however, to come to a consensus. ^[71]

On August 8 2008, Russia sent troops across the Georgian border, into South Ossetia, to stop Georgia’s offensive against the breakaway territory. In five days of fighting, the Russian forces captured the regional capital Tskhinvali, pushed back Georgian troops, and largely destroyed Georgia’s military infrastructure using airstrikes deep inside the smaller country's territory.^[72] Georgia retreated from its offensive in South Ossetia to defend itself.^[73]

On August 9, actions on the Black Sea, resulted in one Georgian missile boat being sunk by the Russian Navy. The Russians claimed that the Georgian ships had attacked them earlier. After the skirmish, the remaining Georgian ships fled in defeat. Elsewhere on August 9, a second front was opened by the military of the Republic of Abkhazia in the Kodori Valley, the only region of Abkhazia that was, before the war began, still in effective control of Georgian loyalists. By August 13, all of the remaining Georgian forces, including at least 1500 civilians in the Kodori Valley, had retreated to Georgia proper. ^[74][75]

On the night of August 11, Russian paratroopers deployed in Abkhazia carried out raids deep inside Georgian territory to destroy military bases from where Georgia could send reinforcements to its troops sealed off in South Ossetia. The Russian military said they were not taking part in the Abkhaz assault on the Georgian forces. Russian forces entered and left the military base near the town of Senaki outside Abkhazia on the 11th, leaving the base there destroyed.^[76] The Georgian government also asserted Russian military activity in the port of Poti and the town of Gori. Gori was shelled by the Russians; one shell killed Stan Storimans, a Dutch reporter from the RTL channel. The Daily Telegraph reporters, in Gori on the 12th, did not see any Russian troops in the city. ^{[77] [78]} Since Gori is along Georgia's main highway, its occupation by Russian forces would cut Georgia's lines of communication and logistics in two.

Most international observers began calling for a peaceful solution to the conflict.^[79] The European Union and the United States expressed a willingness to send a joint delegation to try and negotiate a cease-fire.^[80] Russia 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.^[81]

On August 12, 2008, Russian President Medvedev said that he had ordered an end to military operations in Georgia.^[82] Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze said that Russian jets were still targeting civilians.^[83] “The status quo in South Ossetia and Abkhazia is no longer possible,” said Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.^[72] Later on the same day (August 12), Russian president Medvedev approved a six-point peace plan brokered by President-in-Office of the European Union, Nicolas Sarkozy, in Moscow.^[84] Russian troops drove through the port of Poti on the 12th, and took up positions around it.^[85]

On August 13, 2008, the Russian tanks were seen at Gori. Russian troops were seen on the road from Gori to Tbilisi, but turned off to the north, about an hour from Tbilisi, and encamped. Georgian troops occupied the road six miles (about 10 km) closer to Tbilisi.^[86][87]

On August 14, 2008, there were reports that the Russians occupied Poti; the Russians denied occupation, but the The New York Times claimed that some Russian statements depended on the "technicalities of the definition of occupation". Russian troops attempted to hand Gori back to Georgian authorities, but efforts failed; an attempt to institute joint patrols of Georgian and Russian police in Gori broke down due to apparent discord among personnel.^[88][89][90]

On August 15, 2008, Reuters stated that Russian forces had 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 / 41.98944°N 44.41778°E / 41.98944; 44.41778, an important crossroads. According to the report, 17 APCs and 200 soldiers, including snipers, participated in the advance; the convoy included a military ambulance, and initially, three helicopters.^{[citation needed]}

A Reuters witness said the Russian military convoy advanced to within 55 km (34 miles) of Tbilisi on Friday. That day, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also travelled to Tbilisi, where Saakashvili signed the 6-point peace plan in her presence.^[91][92]

On August 16, The Guardian and the BBC reported that the Russians had occupied Poti, as well as military bases in Gori and Senaki, destroying at least six Georgian ships and seizing large amounts of Georgian weaponry. The general staff of Moscow confirmed ^{[dubious – discuss]} that Russia had occupied Poti, as well as military bases in Gori and Senaki. It stated that they were there to "defuse an enormous arsenal of weapons and military hardware which have been discovered in the vicinity of Gori and Senaki without any guard whatsoever."^[93][94]

On August 17, the BBC's Richard Galpin, who has spent the past two days travelling from the Black Sea port of Poti to Tbilisi, says Georgian forces seem to be surrendering control of the highway to the Russians. ^[95] According to BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse, there is a "much-reduced" Russian military presence in Gori and lorries can be seen delivering humanitarian aid. But he says Russian soldiers still control the town's key entry and exit points. The Russian commander of frontline forces in Georgia told the BBC a gradual withdrawal of Russian forces was under way.^[96]

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Russian troops would begin pulling back on the following Monday. He said his forces would begin moving toward Georgia's breakaway province of South Ossetia. ^[97]

Peace plan: Roadmap to end of military hostilities

Demands to end conflict

On August 7 2008, a few hours before Georgia began its main offensive operation, Saakashvili ordered a unilateral ceasefire and called for talks "in any format"; reaffirmed the long-standing offer of full autonomy for South Ossetia; proposed that Russia should guarantee that solution; offered a general amnesty; and pleaded for international intercession to stop the hostilities.^[65] On August 10, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin ruled out peace talks with Georgia until it pulled back its forces beyond the borders of South Ossetia and signed a legally binding pact renouncing the use of force against South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another breakaway territory of Georgia.^[81]

Ceasefire

On August 11, Russian President Medvedev hinted at an end to the conflict saying, "A significant part of the operation to force the Georgian authorities to make peace in South Ossetia has been concluded," and "Tskhinvali is under the control of a reinforced Russian peacekeeping contingent."^[98] Russian Prime Minister Putin added Moscow would take its mission in the region to "a logical conclusion."^[99] Later the same day, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili signed an EU-backed ceasefire, but the document was rejected by Moscow.^[100] According to a Reuters witness, Georgian troops did not cease fire, as six helicopters attacked Tskhinvali on August 11.^[101] An Associated Press reporter saw 135 Russian military vehicles, including tanks, driving toward the Kodori Gorge, held by Georgian forces.^[102] The acting Georgian ambassador to Britain told Sky News that Russian jets bombed civilian targets in Georgia despite Moscow's announcement that the war had ended.^[103]

On August 12, 2008 at 09:00 UTC Russian president and Russian Army Supreme Commander-in-Chief Dmitry Medvedev stated that the "peace enforcing operation in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone" was over.^[104] Later, Russian General Staff Deputy Chief Anatoliy Nogovitsyn said armed actions would stop, but reconnaissance operations would continue.^[105]

On August 13, a reporter for the UK The Guardian stated that "the idea there is a ceasefire is ridiculous," and that he could see villages near Gori burning, amidst claims that Chechen, Cossack and Ossetian irregulars were advancing through Georgian villages.^[106] CNN reported that journalists in Gori said they had seen no Russian tanks, contrary to claims by the Georgian president.^[107] According to Sky News, Georgia's deputy interior minister said "I'd like to calm everybody down. The Russian military is not advancing towards the capital." The same report said "Sky News correspondents Stuart Ramsay and Jason Farrell confirmed there were tanks in Gori, which has suffered extensively from Russian bombing raids"^[108] Al Jazeera reported a "continuous build up" of Russian forces in Poti throughout the day, and the destruction of several Georgian vessels.^[109] Russia's deputy chief of General Staff Colonel-General Anatoliy Nogovitsyn said sporadic clashes continued in South Ossetia between Georgian snipers and Russian troops. "We must respond to provocations," he said.^[110]

EU-brokered six-point peace plan

On August 12, Russian President Medvedev 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.^{[111][84][112]} 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.^[111]

1. No recourse to the use of force.

2. Definitive cessation of hostilities.

3. Free access to humanitarian aid (addition rejected: and to allow the return of refugees).

4. Georgian military forces must withdraw to their normal bases of encampment.

5. Russian military forces must withdraw to the lines prior to the start of hostilities. While awaiting an international mechanism, Russian peacekeeping forces will implement additional security measures (addition rejected: six months).

6. Opening of international discussions on the modalities of lasting security in Abkhazia and South Ossetia (addition rejected: based on the decisions of the UN and the OSCE).

According to RIA Novosti, "Sarkozy told a briefing after talks with his Georgian counterpart that the deal also includes some changes requested by Georgia... 'we have removed the issue of South Ossetia's status from the document'".^[113] But the The New York Times, citing a Georgian negotiator, reported that Sarkozy convinced Georgia to accept the Russian version unchanged, after Medvedev waited two hours to return his phone call and then rejected the proposed changes. The U.S. newspaper further asserted that the fifth point was crucial, and Russia used it to justify continuing hostilities into Georgia proper after the agreement.^[111]

On August 14, Medvedev met with South Ossetia President Eduard Kokoity and Abkhazia President Sergei Bagapsh, where they signed the six principles.^[114].

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has 200 military observers in the area and is preparing to send 100 more to monitor the ceasefire.^[115][116] There have been difficulties with delivering humanitarian aid to the area, because OSCE personnel are blocked access into Tshinvali or Gori by Russian forces and various irregulars, according to the head of the OSCE mission to Georgia.^[117]

Infrastructure damage

Georgia claimed Russia had bombed airfields and civil 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.^[119][120] Reuters reported an attack on the civilian Tbilisi International Airport, though Russia claimed otherwise.^[121][122] Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Temur Iakobashvili also denied this, reportedly stating, "There was no attack on the airport in Tbilisi. It was a factory that produces combat airplanes."^[118]

Russia's military claimed the retreating Georgian forces have mined civilian infrastructure in South Ossetia.^[123]

Humanitarian impact

South Ossetians

On August 8, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) urged the combatants to make a humanitarian corridor to evacuate the wounded and civilians from Tskhinvali.^[23][20] The fighting interrupted electricity and telephone service in Tskhinvali, and some inhabitants sheltered in basements^[124] with no access to water or medicines.^[125] Russian media reported on August 9 that several journalists were hiding in the basements, as they appealed to world society for a peace corridor to let them out of Tskhinvali.^[126][127] On August 10, the Russian Ambassador in Tbilisi claimed that "at least 2,000" people had been killed, and the chief of Russian ground forces said that the Georgian shelling has destroyed "all the hospitals" in Tskhinvali ^[128] According to western media who arrived in the city and were toured by the Russian military on August 12, "[s]everal residential areas seemed to have little damage", while the heaviest hit appeared to be buildings in and near the government district.^[129]

However, it turned out that the city hospital, which was hit in the roof by a single Grad rocket, did not collapse at all; the Grad rocket damaged part of the second and third floors. Hospital, whose outer walls were also hit by either small arms fire or shrapnel, continued to operate in the building's basement until August 13, when all the wounded (of which 273 were admitted in during the fighting) were evacuated to Russia.^[129][130] From August 8 to 13, the hospital treated 273 wounded, both military and civilians. 44 bodies had been brought to the hospital; these represented the majority of Ossetians killed in Tskhinvali, because the city morgue was not functioning due to the lack of electricity.^[130] On August 14, South Ossetian separatists claimed they have identified 200 corpses of South Ossetian civilians, saying that 500 are missing; at the same time, Russian investigators said they had identified a total of 60 civilians killed during the fighting.^[131]

The UN refugee agency, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said that thousands of refugees left South Ossetia, mostly for North Ossetia-Alania in Russia within the first days of the conflict.^[132] On August 10, Human Rights Watch (HRW) obtained official figures on the number of displaced persons tallied by the Russian government agency in Vladikavkaz, according to which, the Federal Migration Service registered 24,032 persons who crossed the border from South Ossetia into Russia. However, 11,190 of those went back after the Russian intervention in the war; the government stated that “the overall number [of the displaced] was decreasing because of the people who return to join to volunteer militias of South Ossetia”; furthermore, the figures cannot be considered accurate, as many people cross the border back and forth and thus get registered two or more times.^[133] On August 15, UNHCR, relying on figures provided by Georgian and Russian officials, said at least 30,000 South Ossetians have fled across the border into North Ossetia.^[134] On August 16, Russia put this number at over 10,000 refugees.^[135]

HRW entered the mostly deserted Tskhinvali on August 13 and reported that it saw numerous apartment buildings and houses damaged by shelling. It said some of them had been hit by "inherently indiscriminate" weapons that should not be used in areas populated by civilians, such as rockets most likely fired from BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers. Since Georgian and Russian forces use identical Soviet-era weapons systems including Grad rockets, HRW couldn't definitely attribute specific battle damage to a particular belligerent, but witness accounts and the timing of the damage would point to Georgian fire accounting for much of the damage.^[130]

Georgians

Most refugees in the conflict are ethnic Georgians. Before the war started, one estimate of the population of Georgians living in South Ossetia was 18,000 people, or one quarter of the population of the break-away republic.^[136] On August 15, UNHCR said that up to 15,000 ethnic Georgians have fled into the other parts of Georgia from South Ossetia.^[137] In addition, as of August 15, some 73,000 people were displaced in Georgia proper (most of them from the city Gori); many also fled from Abkhazia.^[13] Most had no possessions with them, save for the clothes they were wearing when they fled, and were crammed into makeshift centres without even basic amenities.^[138]

Between August 9 and August 12, residential districts and a media center in the Georgian city of Gori were attacked by Russian Air Force, including by cluster bombs on August 12, killing and injuring numerous civilians (including several journalists, among them the Dutch cameraman Stan Storimans who died).^{[139][140][141]} On August 15, HRW said it had collected evidence of Russian warplanes using cluster bombs; the international rights group urged Russia to stop using the weapons, which 107 nations have agreed to outlaw.^[142][143] On the same day, Russian General Nogovitsyn claimed: "We never use cluster bombs. There is no need to do so."^[144] During the final strikes, an air-to-ground missile smashed into the Gori hospital with deadly effect.^[138]

On August 10, Georgia charged that ethnic cleansing of Georgians was occurring behind Russian lines.^[145] On August 12, HRW researchers in South Ossetia witnessed at least four ethnic Georgian villages still burning from fires set by South Ossetian militias and witnessed looting by the militias. A HRW researcher said that "the remaining residents of these destroyed ethnic Georgian villages are facing desperate conditions, with no means of survival, no help, no protection, and nowhere to go."^[146] On August 13, an interviewed South Ossetian officer said that the separatist forces "burned these houses (...) to make sure that they [the Georgians] can’t come back." HRW also learned from an Ossetian officer about the summary execution of a Georgian combatant, and that the looters, who were "everywhere" in the Georgian villages in South Ossetia, have been "now moving to Gori".^[130]

On August 12, Associated Press journalists toured by the Russian military through Tskhinvali witnessed numerous fires in what appeared to be deserted ethnic Georgian neighborhoods and saw evidence of looting in those areas; they said that while a Russian army officer touring claimed said some of the buildings had been burning for days from the fighting, in fact none of the houses was burning before more than 24 hours after the battle for the city was over.^[129] On August 13-14, already after the official ceasefire, many international media outlets, including Chicago Tribune,^[147] Los Angeles Times,^[148] Novye Izvestiya,^[149] The Guardian,^[150][106] The Independent,^[151] The Washington Post,^[152] among others, reported Georgian government and refugee stories that Ossetian and often also other pro-Russian irregulars (including reports of Cossack and Chechen paramilitaries, and even some Russian regular soldiers) were looting and burning Georgian villages in South Ossetia and near Gori. Some of the emerging stories featured also reports of atrocities, including kidnapping, rape and indiscriminate murder. These reports could not be independently confirmed; as BBC News summed it up on August 14, "The testimonies of those who have fled villages around South Ossetia are consistent, but with all roads blocked and the Russian military now in charge of the area, the scale of alleged reprisal killings and lootings is difficult to verify."^[153][154]

On August 13, Russian interior minister Rashid Nurgaliev said there would be "decisive and tough" measures taken against looters;^[146] according to Russia's Interfax, two looters were executed by firing squad in South Ossetia.^[155] Nevertheless, on August 15, The Daily Telegraph reporter witnesed South Ossetian irregulars continuing to loot and pillage around Gori, often with the encouragement of Russian troops, including a Russian officer shouting to "take whatever you want."^[156] On the same day, Major General Vyacheslav Borisov, the Russian commander in Georgia, was quoted as saying that "now Ossetians are running around and killing poor Georgians in their enclaves."^[157] Also on August 15, the Russia-allied president Eduard Kokoity of South Ossetia, in the interview for Kommersant, officially acknowledged that the alleged ethnic cleansing of South Ossetia was in fact committed against ethnic Georgians, saying that his forces "offered them a corridor and gave the peaceful population the chance to leave" and that the Ossetians "do not intend to allow" their return.^[158][159]

On August 16, an Associated Press reporter witnessed groups of Georgian forced laborers in Tskhinvali under armed guard of Ossetians and Russians; South Ossetia's interior minister Mikhail Mindzayev acknowledged this, saying that the Georgians "are cleaning up after themselves."^[160] The Independent reported that around 40 Georgian civilian captives, mostly elderly men, were "paraded" through the city and abused by South Ossetians.^[138]

Aid and reconstruction

On August 9, Russian Prime Minister Putin promised to spend at least 10 bln rubles (approx. $420 million USD) to reconstruct the infrastructure and facilities in South Ossetia.^[161][161] On August 13, United States President George W. Bush said the U.S. would send humanitarian aid to Georgia. A U.S. military cargo plane arrived in Georgia that day.^{[162][163][164]} Another military plane will arrive in Tbilisi with "104,000 doses of antibiotics requested by the Georgian Ministry of Health." The two shipments are together valued at $1.28 million.^[165] Several countries including Canada, Germany, France, Spain have declared to send aid.^{[166][167][168]}

Reactions to the conflict

International reactions

Russia faced strong criticism from western democracies especially the US where Vice President Dick Cheney stated "Russian aggression must not go unanswered, and that its continuation would have serious consequences for its relations with the United States, as well as the broader international community."^[169]

Financial market reaction

The effect of the war on the Russian financial markets was first noticed on the stock market benchmark index RTS which fell 6% by 8 August 2008 at 12:45 GMT in its lowest level (1,732.26) since May 2007, including blue chips such as Lukoil Holdings shares, and Russian analysts expect the fall to continue for some time but then to rise upwards again, recovering losses.^[170] The Russian ruble also fell by 1% relative to a basket of currencies.^[171]

The Georgian financial markets also suffered negative consequences as Fitch Ratings lowered Georgia's debt ratings from BB- to B+, commenting that there are increased risks to Georgian sovereign creditworthiness, while Standard and Poor's also lowered Georgian credit ratings.^[172]

While Georgia has no significant oil or gas reserves on its own, it is an important transit route that supplies the West, and journalists expressed fear that the war may damage the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, 30% of which is owned by BP.^[173] The BTC pipeline was shut down before the conflict because of the blast in Turkey on 6 August 2008^{[clarification needed]}, and the war created further problems for the operating company.^[174] Georgia claims Russia is targeting the pipeline.^[175] On 8 August 2008, Russian air forces devastated the port of Poti, which the Georgian government calls "a key port for the transportation of energy sources," close to the Baku-Supsa pipeline and the Supsa oil terminal.^[176] On 12 August 2008, BP, an operator of the main pipelines through Georgia, closed the BTC pipeline, the Baku-Supsa Pipeline and the South Caucasus Pipeline for the safety reasons.^[177] Gas supplies through the South Caucasus Pipeline were resumed on 14 August 2008.^[178]

The price of oil was not negatively affected by these events, on 8 August 2008 light sweet crude for September delivery settled down $4.82 to $115.20 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.^[179]

Allegations of media bias

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin accused foreign media^{[needs update]} of pro-Georgian bias in their coverage of the ongoing conflict between Georgia and Russia over breakaway South Ossetia. "We want television screens in the West to be showing not only Russian tanks, and texts saying Russia is at war in South Ossetia and with Georgia, but also to be showing the suffering of the Ossetian people, the murdered elderly people and children, the destroyed towns of South Ossetia, and Tskhinvali. This would be an objective way of presenting the material," he said in a statement to Russian news agencies. Current Western media coverage of the events in the separatist republic is "a politically motivated version" in the eyes of government officials.^[180] Other western media editors disagreed with this view, however, with the Washington Post arguing that Moscow was engaging in "mythmaking".^[181]

On August 11, 2008, the government-funded Russia Today TV channel accused CNN of presenting video footage made by Russia Today in South Ossetia as pictures of bombed Gori.^[182] The Western media has defended its coverage, with Chris Birkett, executive editor of Sky News saying: "I don't think there’s been a bias. Accusations of media bias are normal in times of war. We’ve been so busy with the task of newsgathering and deployment that the idea we've managed to come up with a conspiratorial line in our reporting is bananas." CNN has also defended its coverage.^[183]

William Dunbar, a reporter for Russia Today in Georgia, resigned in protest of bias in the Russian media. He claimed he had not been on air since he mentioned Russian bombing of targets inside Georgia. He told The Moscow Times: "The real news, the real facts of the matter, didn't conform to what they were trying to report, and therefore, they wouldn't let me report it. I felt that I had no choice but to resign."^[183] However one senior journalist from Russia Today called Dunbar's allegations of bias "nonsense". "The Russian coverage I have seen has been much better than much of the Western coverage,” he said, adding, "My view is that Russia Today is not particularly biased at all. When you look at the Western media, there is a lot of genuflection towards the powers that be. Russian news coverage is largely pro-Russia, but that is to be expected."

HRW called the Russian death toll figure of 2,000 unfounded, citing a doctor who said that between August 6 to 12 the hospital treated 273 wounded, more military than civilian. The doctor also said that 44 bodies had been brought to the hospital since the fighting began, both military and civilian. According to HRW, "the doctor was adamant that the majority of people killed in the city had been brought to the hospital before being buried".^[184]Anna Neistat, leader of a HRW team investigating the humanitarian damage in South Ossetia, told The Guardian that^[185]

HRW investigators had... recorded cases of Ossetian fighters burning and looting Georgian villages north of the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali. "The torching of houses in these villages is in some ways a result of the massive Russia propaganda machine which constantly repeats claims of genocide and exaggerates the scale of casualties... That is then used to justify retribution."

BBC News world affairs correspondent Paul Reynolds filed a story on August 15 citing the reports of refugee Ossetians in Russia and a Human Rights Watch report describing much of the damage in Tskhinvali as due to Georgian fire in concluding that the the Georgian attack into South Ossetian on 7 August was being "played down" contrary to the "evidence". Reynolds called attention to what he considered exaggerated Georgian claims and the fact most of the western media is based in Georgia is his story about how "mud" thrown in the "propaganda war" "stuck" to Russia: "the Bush administration appears to be trying to turn a failed military operation by Georgia into a successful diplomatic operation against Russia.^[186]

Cyberattacks and censorship

South Ossetian officials stated that two Ossetian news media sites were attacked. Dmitry Medoyev, the South Ossetian secessionist envoy in Moscow, claimed that Georgia was trying to cover up reports of deaths.^[187]

The National Bank of Georgia website was defaced and replaced with a gallery of 20th century dictators, with Saakashvili added. Georgian news portals were under Internet denial-of-service attacks and reportedly the site of the Georgian Ministry of Defense was attacked as well. The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs site was defaced and replaced with a collage of Saakashvili and Adolf Hitler photos.^[188] According to the The New York Times, Georgian websites crashed frequently on 8 August.^[189]

Estonian media claimed that the attacks are similar in nature to the 2007 cyberattacks on Estonia and were carried out with the same techniques.^[190] Estonian authorities have pledged to provide Georgia assistance in cyber-warfare. Estonia has sent to Georgia two specialists in information security from the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) Estonia, and Georgia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs website is currently hosted on Estonian server.^{[191][verification needed]} The Office of the President of Poland has provided the website for dissemination of information and helped to get access to the Internet for Georgia's government after breakdowns of local servers caused by cyberattacks.^[192]

Georgia had stopped broadcasting Russian television channels across the country.^[193] Web sites hosted on domains with addresses ending in .ru “were briefly blocked” from Georgia.^[194] Some pro-Russian sites in other zones were also reported to be blocked.^[195] Both actions were taken due to Georgia's belief that Russia was conducting an information war.

RIA Novosti news agency's website was disabled for several hours on August 10 by a series of computer cracker attacks. "The DNS-servers and the site itself have been coming under severe attack," said Maxim Kuznetsov, head of the RIA Novosti IT department.^[196] On August 11, Russia Today TV stated: "In the course of the last 24 hours RT’s website (www.russiatoday.com) has endured numerous DDoS attacks, which have made it unavailable for some time. Channel’s security specialists say the initial attack was carried out from an IP-address registered in the Georgian capital Tbilisi.^[197]

The Russian internet news source, Gazeta.ru, reported that the Fox News channel cut off an American-Ossetian girl, Amanda Kokoeva, after she stated that she was attacked by Georgian Forces and saved by the Russian Troops, while the people accustomed to Fox programmes said that such commercial cut-offs are not out of order there.^[198] This was also confirmed earlier by several internet blogs and forums.^[199] The video also allegedly experienced multiple problems with the counters available on YouTube.^[199][198] The video rating and view count are not being updated and new comments are being deleted, according to some sources.^[199] Gazeta.ru stated, "... the counter was at 347,000. At midday the view count on YouTube, fell without any sort of explanation to 45,747."^[198] However the counter was seen being reset, and stopping at around 4000. As of August 16th the counter, seems to be up and running again. The reasons for the counter freezes remain unclear.

Combatants

Military equipment

Georgian, Russian and South Ossetian forces are equipped with predominantly Soviet-made weapons, in particular, Sukhoi Su-25 attack aircraft,^[200] T-55 and T-72 tanks, and AK-74 rifles; however, Georgia has recently also been acquiring some western-made weaponry, including the UH-1 Iroquois helicopters and M4 Carbine rifles from the United States, 152mm SpGH DANA self-propelled guns and RM-70 Multiple rocket launchers from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Turkish Otokar Cobra armored vehicles, and German Heckler & Koch G36 and Israeli IMI Tavor TAR-21 rifles. Ukraine has supplied Georgia with many weapons, reportedly including AA missiles and small arms.^[201]

Georgian order of battle

In the combat for Tskhinvali, Georgia reportedly committed several infantry battalions supported by 82 T-72 tanks and artillery.^{[47] [202]} The Georgian Air Force has also been engaged in the conflict.^[203] Following the Russian response, Georgia recalled all 2,000 of its troops that had been stationed in Iraq. The troops and their equipment were transported by the United States Air Force using C-17 Globemaster aircraft.^[204]

Russian order of battle^[205]

58 Army units - 19 Motor-Rifle Division MRD HQ --- - 693 Motor-Rifle Regiment (MRR) - Vladikavkaz. 30 Т-72 MBTs; 126 IFVs (121 BMP-2, 5 BRM-1К), 2 APCs (BTR-80); 4 2S6 Tunguska Air Defense units; 12 2SЗ Akatsia self-propelled howitzers; 11 BMP-1КSh, 2 PRP-4; 3 PU-12: 2 RHM-2; 1 MTU-20; 2220 personnel. - 135 MRR – Prohladny. 30 Т-72 MBTs; 151 IFVs (60 BMP-2, 87 BMP-K, 4 BRM-1К); 1 BTR-80; 4 2S6 Tunguska Air Defense units, 11 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled howitzers, 15 D-30 towed howitzers; 3 1V18, 1 1V19, 2 PRP-4, 7 R-145BM, 1 PU-12, 1 ZS-88 (BTR-80); 4 MT-LBT; 3 RHM-2; 1 МТU-20; 2111 personnel. - 292 Self-propelled Artillery Regiment – Vladikavkaz. 36 2S19 Msta-S, 12 BM-21 Grad salvo-fire, 3 D-30; 3 1V18, 1 1V19, 4 PRP-4; 2 R-145BM; 1 BTR-80; 911 personnel. - 1415 Separate Salvo Fire Artillery Battalion – Prohladny. 4 9А52 Smerch, 4 9P140 Uragan; 3 1V18, 1 1V19; 1 PRP-4; 188 personnel. - 239 Separate Rekon Battalion – Vladikavkaz. 12 BMP-2, 11 BRM-1К, 6 BTR-80; 3 BMP-1КSh; 3 R-145BM; 345 personnel. - 1493 Separate Engineer-Sapper Battalion – Vladikavkaz. 1 MTU-20; 304 personnel. - 1077 Separate ECM Battalion - Vladikavkaz 4 SPR-2; 171 personnel. - 344-й Separate Repairing Battalion – Vladikavkaz 1 MTP-LB; 312 personnel. - 1098 Separate Material Support Battalion - 135 Separate Medical Battalion - Missile battery of 58 Army – 4 9К79 "Тоchka-U" relocated to Zaramag. - Artillery Battalion of 205 Separate Motor-Rifle Cossack Brigade – Budenovsk. 12 2SЗ Akatsia, 12 BМ-21 Grad. - Artillery Battalion of 429 MRR – Mozdok. 12 2SЗ Akatsia, 4 9P140 Uragan Other units: 114 Missile Brigade - Battery of 9К79 Tochka-U – 4 units. 76 Guards Airborne Division HQ Pskov - 104 Guards Airborne Regiment – Pskov. 31 BMD-3, 20 BMD-2, 51 BMD-1; 34 BTR-D; 14 2S9 Nona self-propelled gun; 13 BTR-3D, 6 BTR-RD-РД; 6 BMD-1KSh, 1 BMD-1R, 8 1V119; 1554 personnel. 98 Guards Airborne Division HQ Ivanovo: - 1065 Guards Artillery Airborne Regiment – Kostroma. 18 2S9 Nona, 12 D-30; 3 BTR-3D, 15 BTR-RD; 2 BMD-1КSh, 7 1V119; 598 personnel. 45 Separate Rekon Airborne Regiment – Kubinka/Moscow. 690 personnel, 15 BTR-80, 1 BTR-D. 42 Motor-Rifle Division - “Vostok” spetsnaz battalion 33 Separate MR Brigade - two mountain-rifle battalions 22 Spetsnaz Brigade - two battalions Medical Detachment of North-Caucasus Military District Air Force 2457 AEW Base - Ivanovo 1 А-50. 185 Combat Training and Doctrine Center – Ashuluk 2 MiG-31, relocated in Budenovsk 4 Combat Training and Conversion Center – Lipetzk; 968 Research Instructor Regiment - flight of MiG-25RB and Su-24MR, relocated in Budenovsk - flight of Su-27, relocated in Mozdok flight of Su-24M plus element of Su-34 relocated in Budenovsk and Mozdok 4 Air Force and Air Defense Army - Su-27 squadron of 51 Air Defence Corps – Budenovsk - Provisional regiment with Su-24/24Ms of 559 and 959 Bomber Regiments – Mozdok and Morozovsk - 368 Attack Regiment of 1 Attack Air Division, Su-25/25SM – Budenovsk and Mozdok - Mi-24 squadron of 487 Separate Helicopter Regiment,– Mozdok, later relocated to Gizel airfield of Border Guard - Mi-8 squadron of 487 Separate Helicopter Regiment, Mi-24 – Mozdok, later relocated to Gizel airfield of Border Guard - Mi-8 squadron of 325 Separate Helicopter Regiment, Mi-24 – Mozdok, later relocated to Gizel airfield of Border Guard 16 Air Force and Air Defense Army - Su-25 squadron of 899 Attack Air Regiment, 105 Composite Air Division – Budenovsk and Mozdok - Su-24M squadron of 455 Bomber Regiment, 105 Composite Air Division – Morozovsk. - Su-24MR and MiG-25R squadron – relocated to Marinovka AB 37 Air Army of Supreme Command (Strategic Aviation) - Tu-160 squadron of 121 Heavy Bomber Regiment – Engels. Used to launch X-555 and X-101 cruise missiles against Georgian air defence installations - Tu-22M3 squadron of 352 Heavy Bomber Regiment – Shaikovka. The downed plane was rekon version Tu-22M3-R

• Army of South Ossetia

• Army (land and air forces) of Abkhazia
• Naval Task Force consisting of following units from the Black Sea Fleet^[206]
  • Slava Class Cruiser RFS Moskva
  • Kashin Class (Upgraded) Destroyer Smetlivy (Russian: Сметливый)
  • Alligator Class Landing Ships Saratov.
  • Ropucha-I Class Landing Ships Tsezar Kunikov and Yamal.
  • Grisha-V Anti-Submarine Corvettes Kasimov, Povarino and Suzdalets.
  • Nanuchka-III Class Corvette Mirazh.
  • Bora Class Missile Boat Samum
  • Moma Class Surveillance ship Ekvator.
  • Natya Class Minesweepers Zhukov and Turbinist.
  • Small Landing Ship Koida
  • Sorum Class Fleet Tug MB-31. ^[207]

Statements by involved parties

Georgia

• Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili claimed the Russians conducted a "well-planned invasion"^[208]
• "A sniper war is ongoing against residents of the villages in the South Ossetian conflict zone and as I speak now intensive fire is ongoing from artillery, from tanks, from self-propelled artillery systems – which have been brought in the conflict zone illegally – and from other types of weaponry, including mortars and grenade launchers", Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said in a live televised address made at 19:10 7 August local time.^[209]
• "This is about annihilation of a democracy on their borders," Georgian President Saakashvili told the BBC. "We on our own cannot fight with Russia. We want immediate cease-fire, immediate cessation of hostilities, separation of Russia and Georgia and international mediation."^[210]
• Georgia's Security Council secretary, Alexander Lomaia, said Saakashvili's proposal means that the Georgian troops will withdraw from Tskhinvali, the provincial capital of South Ossetia, and stop responding to Russian shelling.^[211]
• Russia has "started a full-scale military invasion" of Georgia, the country's UN Ambassador Irakli Alasania said in New York.^[212]
• "If this is not war, then I wonder what is," Georgia's ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Victor Dolidze, told a crisis meeting of the OSCE's permanent council in Vienna.^[212]
• Georgian President Saakashvili stated, "What Russia is doing in Georgia is open, unhidden aggression and a challenge to the whole world. If the whole world does not stop Russia today, then Russian tanks will be able to reach any other European capital." He argued Russia was attacking Georgia because "[Georgia] want[s] to be free and we want to be a multi-ethnic democracy."^[35]
• In an interview with CNN, Saakashvili said that Georgia and Russia were practically at war. "We have Russian tanks moving in," he said. "We have continuous Russian bombardment since yesterday ... specifically targeting the civilian population. Russia is fighting a war with us in our own territory."^[213] He told the BBC: "Our troops are attacked by thousands of troops coming in from Russia."^[214]

• On August 12, Georgia instituted proceedings before the International Court of Justice against the Russian Federation for "its actions on and around the territory of Georgia" from 1991 to 2008, in breach of the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).^[215][216]

• On August 13, Georgia's Ministry of Defence reported on its web site^[217] that 4,600 Russian passports had been found in a Russian armed forces vehicle. These passports were said to have exhibited numerous irregularities — such as having consecutive serial numbers despite bearing different years of issuance — and none of them had been signed by their owners. Georgia suggested that this was evidence of a plan to increase the number of Russian "citizens" in South Ossetia in order to bolster Russia's claim that it was acting to protect its citizens.

• Also on August 13, Ex-President of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze stated that "…Georgia should not have advanced into Tskhinvali in so unprepared a way. That was a grave error".^[218]

• Brigadier Gen. Col. Mamuka Kurashvili, in charge for overseeing peacekeeping operations for the Georgian Ministry of Defense, said Georgia intended to "restore constitutional order in the entire region."^[219]

Russia

• Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in a BBC interview: "Peace is required and that is what we are going to achieve but we would not go beyond this."^[220]
• Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said, "The actions of the Georgian powers in South Ossetia are, of course, a crime — first of all against their own people," and alleged Georgia was committing "complete genocide."^[66] Putin opined that the territorial integrity of Georgia has suffered a fatal blow. He later stated "the Georgian side was preparing aggression... Nobody was listening. And this is the result. We have finally come to it. However, Russia will of course carry out its peacekeeping mission to its logical end."^[221]
• Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he was ordering the military prosecutor to document crimes against civilians (by Georgia) in South Ossetia. He said "The actions of the Georgian side led to deaths - among them are Russian peacekeepers. The situation reached the point that Georgian peacekeepers have been shooting at Russian peacekeepers. Now women, children and old people are dying in South Ossetia - most of them are citizens of the Russian Federation. According to the constitution, I, as the President of the Russian Federation, must protect lives and the dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are. Those responsible for the deaths of our citizens will be punished.^[222] He said it aims to force Georgia to accept peace and restore the status quo, and it is acting within its peacekeeping mission in South Ossetia, and in line with the mandate issued by the international community.^[47][223]
• After the GMT 4:00 8 August UN Security Council meeting, Boris Malakhov, spokesman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said he hoped it was still possible to prevent "mass bloodshed," adding, "It now became clear why the Georgian side was refraining under various pretexts from signing a legally binding document on non-use of force"^[224]
• Russian envoy Yuri Popov said Georgia's military operation showed it could not be trusted and NATO should reconsider its plans to grant membership to Georgia. Popov said, "Georgia's step is absolutely incomprehensible and shows the Georgian leadership has zero credit of trust." He called Georgia's behavior treacherous.^[225]
• In a letter to all NATO members, Ambassador of Russia to NATO Dmitry Rogozin stated Georgia had "got a permit to start a military operation" after the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest and warned against continued support of Georgia and its president.^[226]
• In North Ossetia's Vladikavkaz there were several demonstrations rallied by local Ossetians, with protesters shouting "Russia, save us!" and demanding the withdrawal of Georgian forces from South Ossetia.^[227]
• Chairman of Russia's State Duma Security Committee, Vladimir Vasiliyev, stated, "Georgia could have used the years of Saakashvili's presidency in different ways - to build up the economy, to develop the infrastructure, to solve social issues both in South Ossetia, Abkhazia and the whole state. Instead, the Georgian leadership with president Saakashvili undertook consistent steps to increase its military budget from US$30 million to $1 billion - Georgia was preparing for a military action."^[228]
• On 10 August 2008 Russian human rights commissioner (ombudsman) Vladimir Lukin called for creating an International Tribunal on South Ossetia. "That man who ordered a night attack on Tskhinvali is the main responsible person," he said.^[229]
• Vice Chairman of Russian parliament Vladimir Zhirinovsky in his speech on Echo Moskvy radio suggested bombing Tbilisi and bringing Saakashvili to trial, overthrowing his "fascist regime," as well as breaking all diplomatic and economic links with Georgia.^[230]
• [other reactions from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and deputy Foreign Minister incorporated into initial paragraphs]
• Russia also laid much of the responsibility for ending the fighting on the United States, which has trained Georgian troops.^[231] Moscow ignored the Bush administration’s statement about “significant long-term impact on the U.S.-Russia relations”. Washington has not condemned Georgia’s attack on South Ossetia.^[232] Israel,^{[233][234][235]} France, Ukraine, and other countries have also trained Georgian forces in the past.^[233]

• The Communist Party of the Russian Federation "completely support actions of the (Russian) head of the state and the government against aggressor Mikheil Saakashvili" according to party leader Gennady Zyuganov. Zyuganov also criticized the U.S. and the European nations which have called for a cease-fire, because Zyuganov says they only "wish to protect the bloody dictator Saakashvili." Finally, the Russian government should recognize the independence of the Republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia according to Zyuganov.^[236]
• Mikhail Gorbachev, former head of state of the Soviet Union, in an op-ed in the U.S. newspaper The Washington Post blamed Georgia for starting the conflict: "the roots of this tragedy lie in the decision of Georgia's separatist leaders in 1991 to abolish South Ossetian autonomy... What happened on the night of Aug. 7 is beyond comprehension. The Georgian military attacked the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali with multiple rocket launchers designed to devastate large areas. Russia had to respond. To accuse it of aggression against 'small, defenseless Georgia' is not just hypocritical but shows a lack of humanity."^[237]
• Sergei Lavrov said, on August 14th, that "One can forget about any talk about Georgia's territorial integrity. It is impossible to persuade South Ossetia and Abkhazia to agree with the logic that they can be forced back into the Georgian state". ^[238]

The general staff in Moscow stated on the 16th,, "There is a presence of our armed forces near Gori and Senaki. We make no secret of it," "They are there to defuse an enormous arsenal of weapons and military hardware which have been discovered in the vicinity of Gori and Senaki without any guard whatsoever." it said.^[239][240]

South Ossetia

• On 8 August, South Ossetia called on "the governments and peoples of the world" to recognise its independence: "For South Ossetia, there is only one path of life – the acceptance of its independence by the international community. We call on all self-respecting people of the planet to not be indifferent to the fate of the Ossetian nation."^[241]
• On the 16th, Eduard Kokoity, President of the Republic of South Ossetia, stated that no Georgian peacekeepers or international observers would be allowed in South Ossetia.^[158]

Abkhazia

• Abkhaz Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergey Shamba called on the international community to prohibit Georgia from having its own armed forces. "Over the last hundred years Georgia has been an independent state for 21 years: from 1918 to 1921 and from 1990 till now. And during that time launched 7 wars," he said.^[242]

References

External links

• Georgian Ministry of Defense - site may be down due to cyber attack
• Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs - site may be down due to cyber attack
• President of Georgia
• State Committee of Information and Press of the Republic of South Ossetia Template:En icon
• Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Template:Ru icon
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Template:Ru icon
• UNOMIG (United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia)

Pictures

• Pictures of destroyed Tskhinvali, 13 Aug 2008
• South Ossetia, 8-13 Aug 2008, 89 pictures (15Mb) from Arkadiy Babchenko, correspondent of "Art of War" journal. (Attention: explicit content; mature audiences)

Map resources

• Topographic maps of the region from Poyehali