Thread by @MollyMcKew

13 years after Russia invaded Georgia, do we understand *why* it happened?

Part 2 of a series of interviews with Georgians on the frontlines of the war looks at misperceptions & untruths about the war vs choices on the ground

Via @RenewGreatPower /1

greatpower.us/p/the-august-w…

In 2011, Medvedev admitted the invasion of Georgia had been to keep Georgia and Ukraine out of NATO. This is *why* the war happened.

But everyday is a new day for Russia to try to blame the *how* of the war on the Georgians. /2

Russia ‘provoked’ Georgia into a ‘trap.’ ‘Things got out of hand.’

“That’s such a big lie,” says @TemuriYakobashv. /3

He goes on: “I thought for a while that it was some kind of shift-the-blame game, but now I understand that people kind of genuinely believe that if we did not ‘provoke Russia,’ things would not have happened? That is actually how much they do not understand how Russia works.” /4

“A common misinterpretation by the West is that the war was caused by some accident or ‘provocation,’ but in reality it was Russia’s thought-out strategy that was building up way before the war started,” says @Helenkhosh /5

“It was planned action from the Russian side, planned well ahead of Aug 2008, strategically planned & executed by Putin. This is still not understood,” says @tkesho3. “They learn, they do it better next time. And until it is stopped, there will always be a next time.” /6

“They say it’s a trap—but regular forces of a hostile country entered your territory, & territory is being bombed, & there’s a threat of ethnic cleansing, & there’s the threat of a quick blitzkrieg towards the capital—it is political treason if you don’t react.”- @BokeriaGiga /7

The biggest untruth? “That the war is over. The occupation continues, the creeping annexation continues, in technical terms, the war is not over… The [ceasefire] agreement is not implemented, Russian troops are on the ground, they enlarge their presence.” - @tkesho3 /8

Read part 1 here: /9

greatpower.us/p/the-august-w…

And read more on “provocation,” “traps,” and hard decisions in part 2: /10

greatpower.us/p/the-august-w…

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