Watch the full documentary about the 2008 South Ossetia War on Thursday!<br /><br />In the early hours of August 8, 2008, the Georgian military started to shell the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinval, with artillery and multiple-launch missile systems, violating the earlier-reached ceasefire agreement. The targets included a Russian peacekeepers' base and residential districts of the city, causing huge losses among civilians -- according to South Ossetian officials between 1,500 and 2,000 non-combatants were killed in this attack.<br /><br />In the afternoon of the same day, then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the military to start the 'Operation to force Georgia to peace'. Russian aircraft destroyed Georgian military bases and airfields, and Russian tanks rolled into the republic, quickly ousting the Georgian forces and forcing them far into Georgian territory, stopping just short of the capital, Tbilisi. Infantry and paratroopers followed, securing control on the ground. By August 12 the military stage of the operation was over.<br /><br />RT LIVE http://rt.com/on-air<br /><br />Subscribe to RT! http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=RussiaToday<br /><br />Like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/RTnews<br />Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/RT_com<br />Follow us on Instagram http://instagram.com/rt<br />Follow us on Google+ http://plus.google.com/+RT<br /><br />RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 1 billion YouTube views benchmark.
