On the 15th anniversary of the tragic events of August 2008, South Ossetia is once again appealing to the entire civilized world with a call to condemn the Georgian aggression against the people of the Republic and is calling to account all those responsible, the RSO Embassy in the Russian Federation said in the message sent to all diplomatic missions accredited in the Russian Federation. to all diplomatic missions accredited in the Russian Federation, as well as to the interests section of Georgia at the embassy Switzerland.
“These days, the Republic of South Ossetia, the entire Ossetian people, united by historical memory and duty to past and future generations, is once again remembering and paying tribute to the memory of the innocent victims of the August 2008 Georgian aggression.
15 years ago, on the night of August 7-8, 2008, Georgia, having violated all international obligations and agreements, starting with a massive artillery shelling of the South Ossetian sleeping capital and districts of the Republic, the location of Russian and South Ossetian peacekeeping forces, social facilities, invaded the territory of South Ossetia.
Thousands of bombs and shells fell on the peaceful Ossetian population, turning the sleeping capital of the Republic, the city of Tskhinval, into ruins in a matter of hours, ”the message published on the official website of the RSO Embassy in the Russian Federation says.
The Embassy has noted that the armed aggression was undertaken precisely at the time when the opening ceremony of the 29th Summer Olympic Games was taking place in Beijing; it became another act of permanent genocide against the Ossetian people in the 20th-21st centuries.
“The massive barbaric artillery shelling and Georgian air strikes resulted in the death of hundreds of civilians, including women, the elderly and children, thousands were injured and died due to lack of access to medical care. The main targets of the punishers were residential areas, hospitals, educational institutions, as well as the places of deployment of Russian peacekeeping forces located in the conflict zone in accordance with international agreements,” the text says.
The diplomatic department has added that thanks to the courage of the defenders and Russian peacekeepers, South Ossetia did not surrender and did not turn into an "open field", contrary to the name of this inhuman action of the Georgian army, prepared according to NATO standards.
“The grossest violation of the norms of international law, under the protection of which the military personnel of the peacekeeping forces in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, was the barbaric attack on their locations, which resulted in the death and injury of dozens of peacekeepers.
When we appealed to the world for help, in August 2008 only Russia heard us, the armed forces, of which, together with the South Ossetian regular units and militias, forced the aggressor to peace. Thanks to the actions of Russia, a humanitarian catastrophe was averted and invaluable assistance was provided in restoring the almost completely destroyed Republic,” the statement of the Embassy reads.
