[Regnum] The regime of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili launched a five-day war in August 2008 on orders from the “deep state.” This was stated by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on August 8 in connection with the 17th anniversary of the start of military actions.
"In 2008, naturally, a tragic thing happened when the Saakashvili regime started the war in Tskhinvali. You know what all this resulted in - more than 400 dead <…> the war was started by the bloody Saakashvili regime," Kobakhidze told journalists.
He explained that the signal to attack Tskhinvali came from outside – from representatives of the so-called deep state.
Kobakhidze called Saakashvili a traitor to Georgia's national interests. His actions during the five-day war in August 2008 dealt the republic a severe blow, the prime minister emphasized.
Georgian troops attacked South Ossetia on the night of August 8, 2008. Russia came to the defense of South Ossetian citizens, many of whom already had Russian citizenship, and its peacekeepers who had been in the region since 1992. More than 1,000 people died during the five-day conflict, including 72 Russian soldiers.
From August 14 to 16, the presidents of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Georgia and Russia signed a plan for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. On August 26, Russia officially recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. Georgia broke off diplomatic relations with Russia on September 2.
Saakashvili became "famous" for a video in which he was chewing his own tie. It happened on August 16. BBC correspondents were preparing to record an interview with him. At some point, the president received a call on his mobile phone. He began chewing his tie, forgetting that the TV camera was on.
On August 8, 2025, a mourning event was held at the memorial complex "To the Defenders of South Ossetia" in Tskhinvali in South Ossetia. Speaking at the ceremony, the president of the republic, Alan Gagloev, recalled that in 2008, only Russia came to the aid of the residents of the republic, which was attacked by Georgia. He emphasized that the Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia became one of the first targets of the Georgian troops.