South ossetia war

1. South ossetia war Brian Malik

2. South Ossetia War • Russo-Georgian War • Five-Day War • Georgia vs. Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia • August 7-16 2008

3. Start of the war • South Ossetian War 1991-1992 • Left more than half of South Ossetia under De-Facto control. • De-Facto: • In practice or actuality, but not officially established yet government • Most ethnic Georgian parts of South Ossetia remained under control of Georgia but with Georgian, North Ossetian, and Russian Joint Peacekeeping Force present in the territories. • Similar situation existed in Abkhazia after their war from 1992-1993 • This increased tensions a lot by the summer of 2008 • Russian decides to defend South Ossetia (August 5 2008)

4. South Ossetia War • August 7, 2008: • At 10:30 p.m. on 7 August, Georgian artillery units began firing smoke shells into South Ossetia. • Georgian forces began a major artillery bombardment on heights surrounding Tskhinvali and several villages • Georgia ended up regaining control in a matter of 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. • Russia claimed these actions were a necessary humanitarian intervention and peace enforcement.

5. South Ossetia War • Russian and Ossetian forces battled Georgian forces throughout South Ossetia for four days. • The heaviest fighting taking place in Tskhinvali. • August 9, 2008: • 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. • 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.

6. South Ossetia War • Battle of Tskhinvali: • August 8, 2008 • 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. • Georgia launched a military offensive to capture Tskhinvali. • Code name: Operation Clear Field • Georgian troops had captured the Southern Base of the Russian peacekeepers by 11:00 a.m. • At around 12:15 a.m, Georgian tanks and artillery shelled the barracks of the Russian peacekeepers, killing 10 soldiers. • The Georgians continued advancing through the city, and forced Russian and South Ossetian forces back in heavy street fighting.

7. South Ossetia War • Bombing and occupation of Gori: • Russia began bombing Gori at 8:30 a.m on August 8th, 2008 • The first Russian air attack hit the village of Shavshvebi, located in the Gori District. • On August 9th Russia bombed a Georgian artillery position near Gori. • Russian air attack targeted an arms depot. • The Georgian government reported that 60 civilians were killed when at least one bomb hit an adjacent apartment building • On August 12, a Russian cluster bomb attack hit the central square of the city, killing several Georgian civilians and Dutch journalist and injuring over 30 people.

8. South Ossetia War • Abkhazian front: • August 9th • The Russian Air Force bombed a Georgian military base in Senaki, killing 13 soldiers and wounding another 13 • On August 10th Abkhazia declared a full military mobilization 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 • During a reconnaissance mission, the Russian Air Force shot down two Georgian helicopters at the airbase at Senaki • On August 12, the Abkhazian authorities announced the beginning of a military offensive against Georgian troops in the Kodori Gorge area.

9. South Ossetia War • Bombing and occupation of Poti: • Russian aircraft had attacked the city on August 9, bombing the Port and a nearby airbase • On August 12, Russian troops entered Poti and sank three Georgian naval vessels moored in the harbor, as well as removing or destroying military equipment • Four days later, Russian forces in Poti took prisoner 22 Georgian troops who had approached the city • From August 13-15 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.

10. South Ossetia War • Bombing of Tbilisi: • On August 8, 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. • On August 11, Russia bombed a radar station near Tbilisi.

11. South Ossetia War

12. South Ossetia War • Six-point peace plan: • On August 10 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 August 12, Russian President Medvedev said that he had ordered an end to military operations in Georgia. • Georgian President Saakashvili agreed to the text. • Russia and Georgia then both signed the plan. • On 14 August, South Ossetia President Eduard Kokoity and Abkhazia President Sergei Bagapsh signed the peace plan as well.

13. South Ossetia War

14. South Ossetia War • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUXSZRp0xCc