Armed Forces of South Ossetia | |
---|---|
Motto | "We shall never surrender!" |
Founded | February 23, 1992 |
Headquarters | Tskhinvali |
Leadership | |
Supreme Commander in Chief | Alan Gagloyev |
Minister of Defence | Colonel Inal Sabanov |
Personnel | |
Active personnel | 1,600 |
Industry | |
Domestic suppliers | N/A |
Foreign suppliers | Russia |
Related articles | |
History | |
Ranks | Military ranks of South Ossetia |
The Armed Forces of South Ossetia is the military of the partially recognised state of South Ossetia. It includes an Army and an Air Corps.
The South Ossetian Army was formed in 1992, and is the primary defense force in the breakaway republic of South Ossetia, largely considered to be within internationally recognized Georgian territory.
According to the 2017 agreement with Russia, parts of the South Ossetian forces were integrated with Russia's 4th Guards Military Base stationed in the territory, while the size of the entity's remaining military is to be agreed with the Russian authorities. [1]
The Ossetian Republican Guard (Russian:Республиканская гвардия Осетии) was organized on 15 November 1991 to participate in the defence of the national capital of Tskhinvali. [2] Just a week later, Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia ordered over 10,000 soldiers to the republic. When it was created, it was mostly a loosely organized group of guerillas. [3] It was a participant in the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War, providing 2,400 guardsmen to fight against forces from the National Guard of Georgia. [4] On 17 November 1992, the Supreme Soviet of South Ossetia approved the formation the Ministry of Defence to lead the military. The first combat units of the national armed forces were formed in February 1993. The first units in the MoD was the Military Intelligence Unit and the Artillery Division. [5]
The South Ossetian military fought against the Georgian forces in the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. At the time of the major Georgian offensive, the bulk of the Ossetian force was concentrated in the settlement of Java to the north of Tskhinvali. [6] According to Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, what thwarted the Georgian operation in the end was the resistance offered by peacekeepers and lightly armed South Ossetian units that stayed behind to defend the capital. [6] Also Russian regular army forces entered the fighting on August 8 and drove deep into Georgia proper, occasionally accompanied or followed by South Ossetian militia who committed serious human rights violations, particularly in the Georgian villages of South Ossetia. [7]
According one estimate, the losses of the South Ossetian military forces, militia, and volunteers in the war amounted to 150 dead. [8] [9] According to a 2012 statement by the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, Russia had been training the South Ossetian militias as part of the Russian General Staff's 2006–2007 plan to rebuff Georgia in case of war. [10]
In March 2015, members of the Parliament of South Ossetia put forward a proposal to dissolve South Ossetia's military and fold it into the Russian Armed Forces, but the proposal was ultimately rejected by South Ossetian President Leonid Tibilov and Defense Minister Ibrahim Gassayev. The South Ossetian units were to be incorporated into the Russian military but remain separate units. [11]
On 31 March 2017, defence ministers of the two countries signed agreements whereby some units of the armed forces of South Ossetia would go under Russia′s command. [12]
On March 26, 2022, South Ossetian President Anatoliy Bibilov began sending troops whom have served in units under Russian command to Ukraine to assist Russia with its invasion of Ukraine. [13] [14]
The South Ossetian military has a total of 16,000 soldiers. 2,500 soldiers are on active duty and 13,500 are reservists.
There are 2,500 active duty soldiers and 13,500 reservist members within the South Ossetian Army (SOA). [15] Training within the SOA is conducted by both experienced South Ossetian troops and members of the Russian Airborne Troops. In August 2009 the SOA and Russia reorganized the 4 Air Mobile Brigade, as a joint forces brigade, which would have an active Russian military base in South Ossetia. This brigade has also been reported as the 4th Guards Military Base (ru:4-я гвардейская военная база). The Russian Airborne Troops are reported to have established an active military base outside of Java, South Ossetia and are reported to have trained SOA recruits since the summer of 2009.
All uniforms are donated by the Russian Ground Forces, the tri-coloured Flora pattern is standard issue throughout the SOA. It is planned that the SOA will wear a variant of the Ukrainian BDU camouflage.
At the beginning of the 2008 South Ossetia War, the armed forces possessed the following equipment: [16] [17] [18] [19]
After the Russo-Georgian War, some of the tanks captured from Georgia's forces have been transferred to the South Ossetian military.
South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia–State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked country in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated population of just over 56,500 people (2022), who live in an area of 3,900 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), with 33,000 living in the capital city, Tskhinvali.
Tskhinvali or Tskhinval is the capital of the disputed de facto independent Republic of South Ossetia, internationally considered part of Shida Kartli, Georgia. Tskhinvali Region, known historically as Samachablo, was always part of the Georgian state as a single military and administrative entity. It is located on the Great Liakhvi River approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of the Georgian capital Tbilisi.
The 1991–1992 South Ossetia War was fought between Georgian government forces and ethnic Georgian militias on one side and the forces of South Ossetian separatists and Russia on the other. The war ended with a Dagomys Agreement, signed on 24 June 1992, which established a joint peacekeeping force and left South Ossetia divided between the rival authorities.
Joint Control Commission for Georgian–Ossetian Conflict Resolution (JCC) was a peacekeeping organization, operating in South Ossetia and overseeing the joint peacekeeping forces in the region. It was disbanded on October 10, 2008.
The 58th Guards Combined Arms Army is an army of the Russian Ground Forces, headquartered at Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia-Alania, within Russia's Southern Military District. It was formed in 1941 as part of the Soviet Union's Red Army and has been part of the Russian Army since 1995. It has the Military Unit Number (в/ч) is 47084.
The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Georgia, was a war waged against Georgia by the Russian Federation and the Russian-backed separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The fighting took place in the strategically important South Caucasus region. It is regarded as the first European war of the 21st century.
The Battle of Tskhinvali was a fight for the city of Tskhinvali, the capital of the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia. It was the only major battle in the Russo-Georgian War. Georgian ground troops entered the city on early 8 August 2008. After the three-day fierce fighting with South Ossetian militia and Russian troops, Georgian troops finally withdrew from the city on the evening of 10 August. By 11 August, all Georgian troops had left South Ossetia and Russian forces advanced into undisputed Georgia facing no resistance.
The Russo-Georgian War broke out in August 2008 and involved Georgia, Russian Federation, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Khetagurovo is a 150-house village in South Ossetia, de facto independent partially recognized republic in the South Caucasus, formerly the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. The village has been controlled by the South Ossetian forces since the armed clashes with the Georgian troops in 1991/1992. Until 1991 village was part of Tskhinvali district, Gori municipality. Sakrebulo center.
The Russo-Georgian War included an extensive information war. Russia spread disinformation to discredit Georgia, Ukraine and the United States even after the end of armed hostilities.
Russia–South Ossetia relations refers to the bilateral relationship between Russia and the Republic of South Ossetia, a disputed region in the South Caucasus, located on the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Abkhazia–South Ossetia relations are bilateral foreign relations between the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of South Ossetia, whose international status is disputed – they are both considered part of Georgia by the majority of the world's states.
The Russo-Georgian War had a huge humanitarian impact on the lives of civilians. In the aftermath of the war, ethnic Georgians were expelled from South Ossetia,Georgia and most of the Georgian villages were razed.
The 2008 war between Russia and Georgia created controversy, with both sides blaming each other for starting the war.
Anatoly Ilyich Bibilov is a South Ossetian military officer, was the fourth president of South Ossetia. He succeeded Leonid Tibilov as president on 21 April 2017 to 24 May 2022, following his election victory, but was defeated by Alan Gagloev in the 2022 election.
Independence Day or Republic Day is the main state holiday in the partially recognized Republic of South Ossetia. This date is celebrated on September 20. It commemorates South Ossetia's declaration of independence from the Georgian SSR in 1990, and the country's recognition as a sovereign state by Russia in 2008.
The Ministry of Defense of South Ossetia is a government agency of the partially recognized Republic of South Ossetia. It is the executive body in implementing defense policies in of the Armed Forces of South Ossetia. The current Minister of Defense is Colonel Inal Sabanov.
The 4th Guards Military Base is a sizable overseas military base of the Russian Armed Forces stationed in the disputed territory of South Ossetia. Russia considers South Ossetia to be an independent state and justifies its military deployment in the area by an intergovernmental agreement, while Georgia considers the entity as its territory occupied by Russia.
Nykhaz is a political party in South Ossetia founded in 2013 by supporters of Independent president Leonid Tibilov. Its members and supporters are referred to as Nykhasovites in local media.
The outbreak of the new escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War and the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a significant development for Georgia. Being in the same region as both Russia and Ukraine, the war can be described as happening in the Georgia's immediate neighborhood, with Georgia sharing border with both belligerents: Georgia has a 900-kilometers long direct land border with Russia and a maritime border with Ukraine. With the war waging so closely to Georgia, it has presented new challenges to the country in terms of preserving peace, security, economy and foreign policy.
South Ossetia's armed forces will become part of the Russian armed forces but will retain separate units, the self-declared republic's authorities have announced. The plan appears to be a compromise worked out between the de facto leadership in Tskhinvali and their patrons in Moscow [...] In 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his de facto South Ossetian counterpart Leonid Tibilov signed an agreement on "alliance and integration" which included a provision calling for "certain units of the armed forces of South Ossetia to enter the structure" of the Russian military.