The armed conflict in South Ossetia in August 2008, which ended in "peace enforcement" of Georgia, is somewhat similar to the military special operation in Ukraine. understand the differences and similarities. In August 2008, Georgia attacked South Ossetia. It was an act of aggression against the then unrecognized republic, for which Russia interceded by bringing its troops into its territory. The war was called "five-day" - that is how many days it took the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to liberate the republic, to defeat the Georgian military group.

One of the people most aware of those events is the ex-commander of the 58th combined-arms army, which basically liberated Tskhinval, retired lieutenant general Anatoly Khrulev. he told why the army did not enter the Georgian cities then.

“The army is acting on command - a task has been set, which means it must be completed. There were plenty of forces and means then, there was a certain moment of sudden attack by Georgia, it was expected according to our intelligence in September, so at that time only a group of Russian peacekeepers was in Tskhinvali itself. There was also the difficulty of passing equipment through the tunnel of the Roki Pass, there is an eye of a needle, through which it is not so easy to squeeze through. However, almost immediately after the attack, our advanced battalion tactical group, which I decided to lead, passed through the settlement of Java and reached the outskirts of Tskhinval,” the general recalls.

According to Khrulev, the appearance of the Russian army "demoralized the enemy."

“Next came the main forces of the army and the landing troops attached to us, which immediately went on the offensive. We could take Tbilisi, as they say, with little bloodshed and in the shortest possible time, but a command was received to return to our original positions. It was not difficult to take the city. Kyiv, by the way, is also possible. But there was the will of the political leadership of the country, both to start hostilities and to end them,

the general said.

At the same time, Khrulev notes that the technical equipment of the army was "far from ideal."

“At that time there was a lot of old military equipment, infantry fighting vehicles fought in Afghanistan. But, I note, the personnel, including conscripts, were well trained, confidently acted in a combat situation, showed courage. Commanders of all levels confidently led their units and clearly knew the assigned tasks, which were completed on time. The operation began on August 8 with a march, on August 9 there was a key moment - more than 70 Georgian tanks attacked Tskhinvali, on the 10th they went on the offensive, which developed on the 11th, and already on the 12th a ceasefire order was received,” adds Khrulev.

The current Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are now noticeably different from the army that operated in 2008.

“The Russian army has received not only new effective types of weapons, but also a lot of combat experience. The largest one is in Syria, where the air and ground grouping managed to turn the tide in a short time,” said reserve colonel Gennady Shorokhov. - It was there that pinpoint strikes with Kalibr missiles on militant positions were tested, and there the Aerospace Forces aviation showed its effectiveness, including with the use of strategic aviation. Mobile groups from the Special Operations Forces were able to paralyze the activities of numerous jihadist detachments and allow Bashar al-Assad's government army to take control of most of the country's territory. The tried and tested tactics will now be used on the territory of Ukraine, where the main task is not to destroy the enemy, but to force him to peace. This will help save the lives of the soldiers of the two sides, but primarily of the civilian population.”

The former commander of the 31st Air Assault Brigade, Colonel of the Reserve Nikolai Nikulnikov notes the mobility and efficiency of the Russian army during the operation in Ukraine.

“The Russian army is now showing a classic version of a special operation,” Nikulnikov said. – He doesn’t crawl, as in 2008, but flies. We, military people, in this situation see not just military superiority, the availability of equipment, but precisely the methods of its implementation. Practically on the instructions of Suvorov, with the use of speed and onslaught, with the achievement of success without protracted hostilities that lead to unnecessary losses. I came, I saw, I conquered. That's it, the army is leaving, the further course of events is decided by diplomats, and the people themselves, of course.

bbabo.Net