International Media on Georgia-Russia August 2008 War
EURONEWS has dedicated an article to the Georgia-Russia War, naming it “Europe’s forgotten war.”
The article reads that Moscow’s annexation of Crimea may have been prevented if Europe and others had ‘reacted adequately’ to Russia’s war with Georgia a decade ago, adding that the deadly five-day conflict fought over Georgia’s separatist regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia, erupted on the night of August 7-8, 2008.
The author explains that after a ceasefire was negotiated on August 12, 2008, Russia recognized the independence of breakaway South Ossetia and another region, Abkhazia.
“Diplomatic ties between Tbilisi and Moscow — whose troops were later pulled out of Georgia but remained in the separatist regions — were cut,” the article reads.
A USA Today article reads that on the 10th anniversary of the Georgia-Russia War, the Trump administration could prevent a third and possibly worse war involving Russia.
“We learned hard lessons about Russia 10 years ago. We must keep our eyes open; think about “unthinkable” options; convey Western unity; prepare plans of resistance and convey willingness to use them; not hastily seek a return to “normal” after Russian aggression; and remember the strategic challenge Russia poses through its assertion of a sphere of domination,” the article reads.
The BBC reports that in August 2008, Georgia attempted to recapture South Ossetia, which had fought a separatist war against Georgia in the 1990s.
“Russia poured troops in, ousting Georgian forces from South Ossetia and breakaway Abkhazia, and now Moscow recognizes both as "independent" states. Today, Russia not only has troops based in South Ossetia and Abkhazia; it has also annexed Crimea, supported separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine and deployed troops to Syria,” the article reads.
The Voice of America also dedicated a long article to the August 2008 war, which reads that Georgia condemned Russia's continued "occupation" of its territory, a decade after the two countries went to war over the Kremlin-backed separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
“The 2008 war claimed the lives of hundreds of soldiers and civilians from both sides. The UN said around 120,000 people were displaced during the war, though most returned to their homes afterwards. Up to 18,500 ethnic Georgians were forcibly displaced from South Ossetia, according to prosecutors from the International Criminal Court which in 2016 opened an investigation into war crimes committed during the conflict,” the article reads.
In addition, Meduza released an article saying Russia’s war in Georgia sparked Moscow’s modern-day recruitment of criminal hackers.
Several Russian-speaking hackers told Meduza that the 2008 Russo-Georgian war catalyzed the Russian intelligence community’s cooperation with “patriotic hackers,” transforming these criminals into valuable state assets.
Meduza’s sources say the authorities have regularly recruited hackers to work for them, sometimes voluntarily and sometimes under the threat of criminal prosecution.
By Thea Morrison
Photo: Euronews
Related story: