Everything is very serious

Real fighting is already taking place on the territory of South Ossetia. South Ossetia and some observers call it a war, to which Georgia says it cannot declare war on its own territory. South Ossetia claims that more than a thousand people were killed as a result of the shelling, but there is no exact data on the number of victims. Saakashvili announced general mobilization. From the latest reports: Georgia says that Russian planes continue to drop bombs on Georgia, namely on the Vaziani air base in the vicinity of Tbilisi. Reuters quotes a senior Georgian military officer as saying: “They declared war on us.” Later, Saakashvili said live on CNN that Russia was waging a war with Georgia on Georgian territory. The Georgian TV channel Rustavi-2 reported that not only Georgian but also American military personnel were stationed at the Vaziani base. Saakashvili called on the United States for help, asking it to take part in military operations in South Ossetia on the side of Georgia and stating that the conflict in South Ossetia is no longer only Georgia’s business, but also “an attack on America and its values.”

There are also reports that Russian aircraft are striking Georgian villages in the conflict zone. Earlier, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that Russian planes were bombing the Georgian cities of Kareli and Gori, and it was also said that four planes were shot down. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense, naturally, denied information about the downed planes. (An ironic source in the Ministry of Defense told Interfax that Georgia was probably mistaken and meant not four planes, but four hundred.)

According to the latest data, the Russian 58th Army has entered the territory of South Ossetia, shelling Georgian positions and approaching the capital. At the same time, Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili stated that Georgian troops have Tskhinvali under complete control. Despite Saakashvili’s words, he denies information about the deployment of troops.

Georgia declared a moratorium on hostilities from 15.00 to 18.00 so that refugees could leave the conflict zone through a corridor in the village of Ergneti. This was announced by the mayor of Tbilisi Georgiy Ugulava. Meanwhile, the commander of the Russian peacekeepers, Marat Kulakhmetov, called the report about the humanitarian corridor a lie. It is known that the bulk of refugees do not leave through Ergneti, towards Georgia, but, on the contrary, towards Russia, through the Roki tunnel.

Following the announcement of the ceasefire, it became known that Georgian troops were leaving Tskhinvali. A column of Russian armored vehicles enters the city. This news is reported by ITAR-TASS with reference to the Secretary of the Security Council of South Ossetia, Alexander Barankevich. A clarification followed - according to Saakashvili, quoted by Reuters, about 150 Russian tanks and armored personnel carriers entered Tskhinvali. At the same time, South Ossetian forces are reported to be destroying Georgian armored vehicles and driving Georgian formations south of Tskhinvali. The Information Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense said it had sent reinforcements to the peacekeepers. The city continues to burn, but the shooting has died down. (Earlier it was reported that, in particular, the republican hospital was destroyed.) However, then information appeared that Georgian aviation had begun bombing the capital. Kulakhmetov, quoted by Reuters, states that Tskhinvali has been practically destroyed.

Even before the end of three hours from the moment the ceasefire was announced, reports from the Russian Ministry of Defense appeared that Georgian soldiers were shelling the peacekeepers’ bases in Tskhinvali and finishing off the wounded at captured posts, including local residents.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said from Beijing that Georgia should expect retaliatory action. Speaking on the phone with American President George W. Bush, he admitted that it was “very difficult” for him to keep Russian volunteers from Russia. (Interfax reports that volunteer detachments have already been formed in Vladikavkaz, Khasavyurt and other places, ready to be sent to South Ossetia, not to mention the initiatives of the Cossacks, who announced the formation of a volunteer motorized rifle regiment. One must assume that it is really difficult for Putin to control the process from Beijing.) Bush told Putin that no one needs war. Putin called on the CIS countries to make efforts to stop hostilities on the part of Georgia.

Finally, President Medvedev spoke out and said that Russia will not allow the death of its compatriots with impunity (remember, the vast majority of residents of South Ossetia have Russian passports).

At first, Georgia and the unrecognized republic accused each other of firing: the leadership of South Ossetia claimed that Georgia was shelling its villages and the capital, Tskhinvali. Georgia denied these reports and stated that South Ossetia was shooting at Georgian villages. Be that as it may, serious firing began on the day (August 7) ​​on which negotiations between Georgia and South Ossetia were scheduled. Naturally, they did not take place - however, South Ossetia was initially not satisfied with the format of negotiations proposed by Georgia with the participation of Russian representatives. The authorities of the unrecognized republic insisted on a meeting within the framework of the Mixed Control Commission, which includes negotiators from South Ossetia, Georgia, Russia and the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. But Georgia no longer wants to meet in the format of this commission. As a result, Ambassador at Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Yuri Popov held negotiations with Temur Yakobashvili, but they were unsuccessful; Georgian observers and the minister left the peacekeepers’ headquarters.

President of South Ossetia Eduard Kokoity said that if the Georgian side does not stop shelling South Ossetia and does not listen to the demands of Russian peacekeepers, the armed forces of the unrecognized republic will begin to clear the heights occupied by Georgian units. South Ossetia accuses Georgia of using armored vehicles and artillery. Saakashvili, meanwhile, accuses Russia and its television channels of military propaganda and hysterical militarization and claims that confrontation is not in his interests (as well as in Russia’s interests). On the evening of August 7, he appeared on television and announced that he had ordered the armed units to cease fire. If South Ossetia also ceases fire (Georgia, naturally, says that South Ossetia started it first), then members of the armed formations will receive an amnesty.

By the evening of August 7, the fire seemed to have truly stopped. However, during the night, reports of hostilities reappeared. Moreover, the President of North Ossetia Teimuraz Mamsurov reported that a convoy with humanitarian aid, in which he himself was traveling, was bombed. True, his press service later denied these words. Georgia announced that since the Ossetians do not want peace, they will have to establish constitutional order in the rebellious republic, although no one is abandoning the idea of ​​peace negotiations.

Russia calls on Georgia to come to its senses, the United States accuses South Ossetia of starting the conflict. On the morning of August 8, the UN Security Council met to discuss the situation in South Ossetia, at which Russia’s statement calling for a ceasefire was not supported. At the same time, Georgia reported that it already controlled eleven Ossetian villages (South Ossetia stated that five of them had been wiped off the face of the earth) and occupied areas of Tskhinvali. Georgia denied the information that it fired at the location of Russian peacekeepers.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Liberal Democratic Party, which adhere to the most radical positions regarding Russia's reaction to what is happening in South Ossetia, demanded the convening of an extraordinary meeting of the Duma. True, the chairman of the Duma Security Committee, Vladimir Vasiliev, said that he did not see the need for this. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation, in a statement issued, accuses Georgia of outright robbery and state terrorism. The party calls on the Russian leadership to recognize the independence of South Ossetia, and at the same time Abkhazia, and accuses Saakashvili’s “masters” sitting in Washington of involvement in the “intervention.” "It is difficult to avoid the impression that the war in the Caucasus was deliberately launched precisely at the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing." (Recall that the conflict was already brewing, and reports of the opening of fire appeared on August 7.) The LDPR called the attack on South Ossetia a direct aggression against Russia. The party also demands recognition of the independence of two republics on the territory of Georgia, and in addition, the introduction of Russian troops into these republics, the bombing of Tbilisi, the adoption of all international measures to arrest Saakashvili, the severance of diplomatic relations with Georgia, the recall of the ambassador, the evacuation of the embassy, ​​the expulsion of all Georgian citizens from Russia who do not have registration, interrupt all communications with the country, stop the supply of energy, stop all business of Georgian citizens in Russia, subject Georgian troops to fire and begin the liberation of South Ossetia, arrest all leaders of Georgian criminal groups in Russia, close all casinos, in the leadership which are Georgian citizens and, finally, to call on Georgian citizens not to support mobilization within the country and to leave large cities for their own safety.

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov called on Georgia to “return to civilized ways of solving political problems” (the words of a specialist can be heard). He said that the republic under his control would take any action using armed forces only if Russia decided to use their units as part of the peacekeeping forces.

Russia's permanent representative to NATO Dmitry Rogozin interrupted his vacation and returned to Brussels. He sent a note to all representative offices of the alliance member countries and plans to hold consultations with military representatives on August 9. He said that Russia would warn NATO against further support for Saakashvili, especially since, in his opinion, the Georgian president unleashed aggression against South Ossetia with the support of foreign sponsors.