It has been 17 years since the August war. In the August 2008 Russian-Georgian war, 170 employees of the Georgian Ministry of Defense, 14 employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and 224 civilians were killed. The total number of wounded and injured civilians and military personnel is 2,232, including 1,045 military personnel.

Today, 20% of Georgia’s territory is still occupied by Russia. The Russian Federation continues to occupy and militarize the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region, regularly conducts illegal military exercises on the territory of the country, intensively reinforces the occupation line with barbed wire and various artificial barriers, and continues the practice of illegal detention and abduction of the local civilian population.

After the August war, Russia recognized the independence of two Georgian regions, Abkhazia and “South Ossetia”, but the international community remains supportive of Georgia’s territorial integrity.