Georgia marks 17 years since 2008 war with Russia

Georgia is commemorating the 17th anniversary of the 2008 war with Russia.

The five-day war began on 7 August 2008, following weeks of escalating tensions and violence in the breakaway region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia). Over 400 people were killed, including 170 Georgian soldiers, 19 Interior Ministry personnel, and 244 civilians. More than 2,200 were injured, and around 26,000 people were displaced from their homes.

Clashes in the region intensified in early August 2008. On 1 August, a Georgian police vehicle struck a mine in the village of Eredvi, killing one officer. The following days saw increasing exchanges of fire between Georgian forces and Tskhinvali separatists, with reports of damage to homes and civilian injuries.

By 6 August, shelling of Georgian villages from separatist-controlled territory escalated. On 7 August, Georgia announced it was preparing for direct talks with Tskhinvali representatives. However, the de facto authorities in Tskhinvali refused to participate. That night, hostilities surged, and by the early hours of 8 August, full-scale war had broken out.

On 8 August, Russian military forces officially entered the conflict. Russian troops, including the 53rd Army, launched operations not only in Tskhinvali but deep into Georgian territory.

Over the course of the next five days, Russian aircraft and ground forces targeted cities and strategic infrastructure across Georgia. Gori, Poti, Senaki, Marneuli, and other towns were hit by airstrikes, with reported civilian and military casualties. Georgia’s key radar installations and military facilities were bombed, and Russian naval vessels shelled targets along the Black Sea coast.

Russian air raids also struck areas far from the conflict zone, including Tbilisi's aviation factory, the Shiraki airfield in eastern Georgia, and even near the Turkish border. Civilians were among the casualties in several of these strikes.

On 12 August, following mediation by then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy - who held the EU presidency at the time - a six-point ceasefire agreement was reached. The deal called for Russian forces to return to their positions held prior to 7 August, but that withdrawal has not been fully implemented to this day.

Later that same day, Georgia’s parliament began preparing a law on the occupation of Georgian territories, and the government announced its formal withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Georgia also filed a case against Russia at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, accusing Russia of aiding ethnic cleansing from 1993 to 2008 in Georgia's breakaway regions.

Although the 2008 conflict was not the first confrontation between Russia and Georgia, it marked a turning point. For the first time, the term “occupation” entered international diplomatic discourse in connection with Georgia.

On 26 August 2008, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recognised the independence of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali - regions that remain under de facto Russian control. Most of the international community, including the EU and the United States, continues to recognise both as part of Georgia’s sovereign territory.

Since the war, Georgia has faced ongoing “creeping occupation,” with Russian forces slowly expanding control along administrative boundary lines, detaining civilians and erecting new barriers.