On August 8, 2008, the five-day Russian-Georgian war for South Ossetia began. It was preceded by clashes in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict in the early 1990s. The parties accused each other of violating the ceasefire of 1992. According to the results of an international investigation initiated by the European Union, on August 8, Georgian military forces subjected the city of Tskhinval to massive shelling. On the same day, Russia which had previously supported the self-proclaimed republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia entered the conflict. In Moscow, the entry into the war was referred to as a “peace enforcement operation”. According to some testimonies, Russian troops entered South Ossetia on August 7, that is, before the shelling of Tskhinvali. The fighting lasted five days and ended on August 12 with the defeat of the Georgian army. Two weeks later, Russia officially recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. The first war in the 21st century in Europe killed 850 people on both sides, thousands were injured and wounded, tens of thousands of ethnic Georgians were expelled from South Ossetia, Georgian villages were destroyed.
August war 2008
Most read

"Turkey is trying to limit Armenia’s transit options", say analysts in Yerevan
"Aliyev speaks of a "corridor" and calls Armenian society "sick" after the US meeting" - opinion from Yerevan
Top stories in Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia from 1-5 September, 2025
Moscow banks on ‘new faces’ to push its interests in Armenia
Plane crash in Aktau: Russia-Azerbaijan relations and the compensation dispute

EU delegation shows solidarity with German ambassador in Georgia after government accusations
In Abkhazia, former Council of Ministers building destroyed in the war to be restored
Former Georgian defense minister (2021–2024) arrested
Two leaders of the opposition in Georgia arrested by the State Security Service
In Georgia, an activist was arrested for writing on a campaign banner. What does a lawyer say about this?
