Photo: RES News Agency.
More than 2,000 fighters from the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia are taking part in Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to Artem Abramov, a representative of Russia’s 4th Military Base stationed in the occupied region.
Abramov made the statement during a roundtable at the “South Ossetian State University” on September 28, titled “The Role of Russia in Ensuring the International Recognition of South Ossetia.” The event brought together university students and representatives of the Russian military base.
“South Ossetia makes an important contribution to the Russian military operation in Ukraine,” Abramov said, according to the local news agency RES. He said volunteers from the region had fought in [the Ukrainian region of] Donbas since 2014 and that their numbers had since increased significantly. “More than 2,000 fighters from South Ossetia are fighting in the SVO [‘Special Military Operation’] zone,” he said, using Moscow’s term for its full-scale war against Ukraine. Abramov added that many had received Russian military orders and medals.
Abramov also said that what he described as a “victorious” conclusion to the war would have a positive impact on the South Caucasus.
The involvement of volunteers and servicemen from Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions in Russia’s war against Ukraine has been reported since the early weeks of the full-scale invasion. In March 2022, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine alleged Russia was recruiting mercenaries from occupied Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia.
Later that month, it said Russia had transferred about 2,000 troops from the two occupied regions to Ukraine, which also included “South Ossetian” servicemen. Casualties among South Ossetian fighters were also reported in the first months of the invasion.
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