Responsibility for the Russo-Georgian War

Russo-Georgian War
Main topics
Background Prelude Timeline Responsibility Information war Cyberattacks International reaction Protests Humanitarian impact / response Financial impact Infrastructure damage Reconstruction efforts International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia Occupied territories of Georgia
Related topics
Georgian–Ossetian conflict Abkhaz–Georgian conflict Transnistria conflict Belarusian–Russian Milk War Russo–Ukrainian War Second Cold War
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The 2008 war between Russia and Georgia created controversy, with both sides blaming each other for starting the war.

Although the Russian authorities have claimed that it was Georgia that started the war by launching an unprovoked attack on the separatist-controlled city of Tskhinvali (located within Georgia's internationally recognised borders) and the Russian Armed Forces only responded to the surprise Georgian attack in order to protect the Russian citizens, many reports and researchers (among them independent Russian experts) concluded that the conflict actually started much earlier than the Georgian military operation began on 7 August 2008 at 23:35 and Russia was responsible for provoking the war. It was noted that the relations between Georgia and Russia deteriorated since Vladimir Putin's rise to power in 1999–2000. It was argued that shelling carried out by South Ossetian separatists in early August 2008 was done to trigger a Georgian military response, which would be used as a pretext for planned Russian invasion. There is evidence published in Russian media that some Russian regular troops had entered South Ossetia before the Georgian military counterattacked Tskhinvali on 7 August 2008.