Why and How President Putin's War on Georgia Began ?
Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, Russia has been at war with several countries. One of them was in 2008, with Georgia, a former republic of the Soviet Union.
Russia sent troops to Georgia as it tried to retake its South Oss-etia province from Russian separatists. Another province named Abkhazia- was also captured.
During the five-day war, Russian forces bombarded several cities in Georgia and a port on the Black Sea. Hundreds of people died.
How did the war begin in Georgia ?
Under these circumstances, President Saakashvili ordered a military operation on August 7. And 1,500 troops were sent to South Ossetia to suppress the separatists once and for all.
Vladimir Putin was the Prime Minister of Russia at the time. He was in Beijing at that time on the occasion of the Olympic Games.
There, he said, "Georgia's leadership has chosen the path of harsh aggression against South Ossetia. In fact, they have started military operations. They are using all kinds of heavy weapons, shells and tanks. This is a very sad and worrying incident, to which we must respond."
Russian soldiers advance with tanks on the road from Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, to the city of Gori.
In response, military forces amassed on the Russian border were sent to South Ossetia, where they began expelling Georgian troops.
But later Russian operations spread beyond this province to the rest of Georgia.
As a result, panic spread among people. They started running away to save their lives. Many are refugees. The battlefield was only an hour away from the capital, Tbilisi. Every night thousands of people take to the streets of Tbilisi to protest against this Russian operation.
Vladimir Putin justified the operation by referring to it as a peacekeeping operation. He said that Russia is forced to protect those who are under attack.
Journalist Natalia Antalava said, "They were doing what Russia always does. They start a war between different people and then they get in there. Say they are solving this problem. Russia says, I will act as a peacekeeper, I will mediate this crisis. I will."
This war is felt all over Georgia. Airstrikes were also carried out on the eastern city of Gori, near the capital Tbilisi, and the Black Sea port of Poti.
Relations with the United States !!
But US diplomatic relations with Georgia began to warm. In 2006, President Bush announced the possibility of Georgia joining NATO, the Western defense alliance.
"I believe NATO will benefit if Georgia becomes a member of NATO. I think Georgia will also benefit from it. Progress is being made on their membership. We are working with NATO partners on that. We are looking at how to make this path smoother for Georgia," he said. . Georgia also has to work on that and the president of Georgia understands that. I think it is in the interest of the world to expand NATO."
In the months following NATO's announcement, Russia began deploying troops and military equipment along its border with Georgia. At the same time, hostilities between Georgian forces and separatists in South Ossetia intensified.
President Saakashvili once again called on his forces to call for a ceasefire. But the attacks on them continued.
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