Russo-Georgian War

"Russian invasion of Georgia" redirects here. For the 1921 war, see Red Army invasion of Georgia.

Russo-Georgian War
Part of the Abkhazia conflict, the Georgian–Ossetian conflict, and the post-Soviet conflicts
From top left:
Ruins of a burnt apartment building in Gori; Russian forces moving into Georgia; US humanitarian supplies arriving in Georgia; House in Tskhinvali on fire; Russian tank in South Ossetia.
Date1–16 August 2008
(16 days)
Location
Georgia
Result

Russian, South Ossetian and Abkhaz victory

Territorial
changes		 Georgia loses control of Kodori Valley in Abkhazia, as well as Akhalgori Municipality and parts of the Tskhinvali District in South Ossetia.
Belligerents
  Georgia
Commanders and leaders
Strength
Casualties and losses
  •  Russia
  • North Ossetian and Cossack volunteers:
    • Killed: 10–15[18]
    •  South Ossetia
    • POWs: 27[14]
  • Ministry of Defence:
  • Reservists and militiamen:
  • Ministry of Internal Affairs:
  •  Abkhazia
Total: 163–170 killed, 354 wounded, 1 missing, 39 captured
  •  Georgia
Total: 180 killed, 1,174 wounded, 4 missing, 49 captured
Civilian casualties:
  • South Ossetia: 162 civilians, according to Russia;[24] 365 people killed in total, according to South Ossetia;[25][26] 255 wounded, according to Russia[24]
  • Georgia: 224 civilians killed and 15 missing, 547 injured according to Georgia[23]
  • Foreign journalist (Stan Storimans) killed and 3 wounded[27]
Refugees:
  • 192,000 civilians displaced[28] (including 30,000 South Ossetians who moved to Russia; and 15,000 Georgians from South Ossetia per UNHCR who moved to Georgia proper)[29]
  • Estimate by Georgian official: at least 230,000[30]
Russo-Georgian War
Main topics
Related topics
Georgia (country) Abkhazia South Ossetia Russia

The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Georgia,[note 3] was a war waged against Georgia by the Russian Federation and the Russian-backed separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The fighting took place in the strategically important South Caucasus region. It is regarded as the first European war of the 21st century.[31]

Georgia declared its independence from the Soviet Union in April 1991, following a referendum during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. However, fighting between Georgia and separatists resulted in parts of the former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast under the de facto control of Russian-backed but internationally unrecognised separatists. In 1992, a joint peacekeeping force of Georgian, Russian, and Ossetian troops was stationed in the territory. A similar stalemate developed in the region of Abkhazia, where the separatists had waged a war in 1992–1993, culminating in the Sukhumi Massacre. Following the election of Vladimir Putin in Russia in 2000 and a pro-Western change of power in Georgia in 2003, relations between Russia and Georgia began to severely deteriorate, reaching a full diplomatic crisis by April 2008.

On 1 August 2008, the Russian-backed South Ossetian forces started shelling Georgian villages, with a sporadic response from Georgian peacekeepers in the area.[32][33][34][35][36] Intensifying artillery attacks by the South Ossetian separatists broke a 1992 ceasefire agreement.[37][38][39][40] To put an end to these attacks, Georgian army units were sent into the South Ossetian conflict zone on 7 August and took control of most of Tskhinvali, a separatist stronghold, within hours.[41][42][43] Some Russian troops had illicitly crossed the Georgia–Russia border through the Roki Tunnel and advanced into the South Ossetian conflict zone by 7 August before the Georgian military response.[39][44][45][46][47][48][49][50] Russia falsely accused Georgia of committing "genocide"[51][52] and "aggression against South Ossetia"[41]—and launched a full-scale land, air and sea invasion of Georgia, including its undisputed territory, on 8 August, referring to it as a "peace enforcement" operation.[53] Russian and separatist forces fought Georgian troops in and around South Ossetia for several days, until Georgian forces retreated. Russian and Abkhaz forces opened a second front by attacking the Kodori Gorge held by Georgia, while Russian naval forces blockaded part of the Georgian Black Sea coastline. The Russian air force attacked civilian targets both within and beyond the conflict zone. This was the first war in history in which cyber warfare coincided with military action. An information war was also waged during and after the conflict. Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France, personally negotiated a ceasefire agreement on 12 August.

Russian forces temporarily occupied the Georgian cities of Zugdidi, Senaki, Poti and Gori, holding on to these areas beyond the ceasefire. The South Ossetians destroyed most ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia and were responsible for an ethnic cleansing of Georgians. Russia recognised the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia on 26 August and the Georgian government severed diplomatic relations with Russia. Russia mostly completed its withdrawal of troops from undisputed parts of Georgia on 8 October. Russian international relations were largely unharmed. The war displaced 192,000 people. While many returned to their homes after the war, 20,272 people, mostly ethnic Georgians, remained displaced as of 2014. In 2021, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia maintained "direct control" over the separatist regions and was responsible for grave human rights abuses taking place there.[54][55] In 2022, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for three Russian nationals because of war crimes against ethnic Georgians during the conflict.[56]


Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Hider, James (27 August 2008). "Russian-backed paramilitaries 'ethnically cleansing villages'". The Times. Archived from the original on 27 August 2008.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference iwpr_limbo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Statement by President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev". The Kremlin. 26 August 2008. Archived from the original on 2 September 2008.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference troops_to_stay was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference lessons was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Donovan 2009, p. 11.
  7. ^ Barabanov, Mikhail (2009). "The August War between Russia and Georgia". Moscow Defence Brief. 3 (13). Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. Archived from the original on 16 April 2009.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference rapidreaction was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b Tom Parfitt (9 August 2008). "Armed Cossacks pour in to fight Georgians". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference rasstanovka_sil was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Luke Harding (11 August 2008). "Abkhazia: Moscow sends troops into second enclave". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  12. ^ Volume II 2009, p. 214.
  13. ^ Misha Dzhindzhikhashvili (9 August 2008). "Full scale war: Georgia fighting continues over South Ossetia". Die Welt. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  14. ^ a b c d "Human Rights Watch – Appendix" (PDF). Human Rights Watch. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  15. ^ a b Tanks 2010, pp. 130–135.
  16. ^ "Russia lost 64 troops in Georgia war, 283 wounded". Reuters. 21 February 2009. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  17. ^ Volume II 2009, p. 224.
  18. ^ a b Tanks 2010, p. 137.
  19. ^ a b c Tanks 2010, pp. 136–137.
  20. ^ Юрий ТАНАЕВ: "Грузинская сторона по моральному духу и боеготовности не готова к активным действиям" (in Russian). Южная Осетия. 11 April 2009. Archived from the original on 28 July 2013.
  21. ^ Inal Khashig (14 August 2008). "Abkhaz Open 'Second Front'". Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Archived from the original on 14 August 2008.
  22. ^ a b "List of Casualties among the Georgian Military Servicemen". Ministry of Defence of Georgia. Archived from the original on 7 June 2012.
  23. ^ a b c d e "Basic Facts: Consequences of Russian Aggression in Georgia". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. Archived from the original on 2 August 2014.
  24. ^ a b Мы полагаем, что мы в полной мере доказали состав преступления (in Russian). Interfax. 3 July 2009. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011.
  25. ^ "Deceased victims list". Ossetia-war.com. Archived from the original on 11 May 2009.
  26. ^ Список погибших граждан Южной Осетии на 04.09.08 (in Russian). osetinfo.ru. 4 September 2008. Archived from the original on 5 September 2008.
  27. ^ "A Summary of Russian Attack". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2014.
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference amnesty-report was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ "UNHCR secures safe passage for Georgians fearing further fighting". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 15 August 2008. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  30. ^ Fawkes, Helen (20 August 2008). "Despair among Georgia's displaced". BBC News. Archived from the original on 20 August 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  31. ^ Michael Emerson (August 2008). "Post-Mortem on Europe's First War of the 21st Century" (PDF). Centre for European Policy Studies. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  32. ^ Cite error: The named reference shelling was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  33. ^ Cite error: The named reference feud was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  34. ^ Cite error: The named reference orlov was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  35. ^ Cite error: The named reference parl was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  36. ^ Andrew Rettman (24 February 2016). "West told Ukraine to abandon Crimea, document says". EUobserver. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  37. ^ Cite error: The named reference kulakhmetov was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  38. ^ Cite error: The named reference malek was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  39. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Karlsson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  40. ^ "2008 Georgia Russia Conflict Fast Facts". CNN. Archived from the original on 28 May 2014.
  41. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference roudik was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  42. ^ Cite error: The named reference jamestown was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  43. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tribune was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  44. ^ Cite error: The named reference von Twickel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  45. ^ Chifu 2009, pp. 53–54.
  46. ^ Dunlop 2012, pp. 94, 96, 101.
  47. ^ Cite error: The named reference delfi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  48. ^ Cite error: The named reference ecfr was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  49. ^ Laaneots 2016, pp. 56–57.
  50. ^ ""Little Green Men": A Primer on Modern Russian Unconventional Warfare, Ukraine 2013–2014" (PDF). The United States Army Special Operations Command. 2016. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  51. ^ Andrew Osborn; Jeanne Whalen (15 August 2008). "Evidence in Georgia Belies Russia's Claims of 'Genocide'". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  52. ^ Volume I 2009, pp. 26–27.
  53. ^ Cite error: The named reference Allison was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  54. ^ Strasbourg court rules Russia has 'direct control' over Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Euractiv, 21 January 2021
  55. ^ Russia guilty of violations during 2008 war with Georgia, says Europe's top court, Euronews, 26 January 2021
  56. ^ Situation in Georgia: ICC Pre-Trial Chamber delivers three arrest warrants, International Criminal Court, 30 June 2022