Russo - Georgian war

The five-day Russo-Georgian war occurred in August 2008 when the Georgian army launched an assault on the breakaway region of South Ossetia. South Ossetia and Abkhazia are two provinces in Georgia that have always claimed autonomy/independence from the country. Their quest for independence has always been supported by Russia and this has created tension with Georgia. There was a peacekeeping mission by both Georgian and Russian troops in the two provinces as part of the 1992 agreement. When Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili was elected, he wanted to make South Ossetia part of Georgia. But in 2006 South Ossetia rejected the plan in a referendum. The Russo-Georgian War deserves an indispensable name in the list of shortest wars in history that had a devastating human cost.

As all that is going on in the Russo-Georgian war, Georgia is strengthening its ties with the European Union (EU) and NATO and is planning to join. While on the other side, South Ossetia is strengthening ties with Russia. Of course, neither side liked what the other was doing, so accusations and minor clashes broke out between the South Ossetian militia and the Georgian army. But on August 7, 2008, the president of Georgia ordered his troops to capture the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali. The Georgian army controlled most of the city because they had almost 7,500 men with tanks and armored personnel carriers compared to 2,500 Ossetian militiamen. The tides changed on August 8, 2008, when Russian troops crossed the border into South Ossetia and fought the Georgian army. The Russians used air power to their advantage by bombing Georgian military facilities and vehicles. Russia's ground and air offensive pushed Georgian troops out of South Ossetia and its capital. The Russian army was also stationed in Abkhazia and continued to advance, stopping only 45 km from the Georgian capital Tbilisi. A ceasefire on 12 August 2008 ended the Russo-Georgian War. It was a clear victory for the Russian and southern provinces of Ossetia and Abkhazia. The war had a devastating impact with more than 100,000 civilians displaced during the war. Also in the five-day conflict, nearly 850 people were killed.

• Date: 7 - 12 August 2008 (5 days)
• Location: Georgia
• Result: Russian, South Ossetian, and Abkhaz victory