Both sides of the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia blamed each other for starting the war.
A number of reports and researchers (among them independent Russian experts) concluded that the conflict started much earlier than the Georgian military operation which began on 7 August at 23:35 and that Russia was responsible for the war. Some have argued that shelling carried out by South Ossetian separatists in early August was done to trigger a Georgian military response and therefore a Russian military intervention.
Combatants' positions
Georgia
Georgia first said that its military offensive responded to Ossetian shelling of Georgian villages, and it intended to "restore constitutional order" in South Ossetia. Georgia also said it aimed to counter a Russian invasion. During a United Nations Security Council meeting on 8 August, Georgia said that the first Russian troops entered South Ossetia at 5:30 am on 8 August. In a decree ordering the general mobilisation published on 9 August, Saakashvili noted that the Russian troops had advanced through the Roki tunnel on 8 August (after the Georgian attack). The Georgian government continued to maintain its position, saying that around 11:30 pm on 7 August intelligence information was received that 150 Russian army vehicles had entered Georgian territory through the Roki Tunnel. In an interview with Der Spiegel, Saakashvili said that he "wanted to stop the Russian troops before they could reach Georgian villages." "When our tanks moved toward Tskhinvali, the Russians bombed the city. They were the ones – not us – who reduced Tskhinvali to rubble." Georgia released intercepted telephone calls purporting to show that part of a Russian armoured regiment crossed into South Ossetia nearly a full day before Georgia's attack on the capital, Tskhinvali, late on August 7.
Russia
Russia says it acted to defend Russian citizens in South Ossetia, and its own peacekeepers stationed there. The Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia allegedly suffered casualties during the war. According to a senior Russian official, the first Russian combat unit was ordered to move through the Roki Tunnel at around dawn of 8 August (after the Georgian attack had begun). Defending Russia's decision to launch attack in uncontested Georgia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Russia had no choice but to target the military infrastructure sustaining the Georgian offensive. Initially, Russia went as far as accusing Georgia of committing genocide against Ossetians. It was claimed that Georgia codenamed its attack Operation "Clear Field". Russia also claimed that Georgia was planning to launch a two-day Operation "Rock" to retake Abkhazia. Russia codenamed its military action "Operation to Force Georgia to Peace".
Three years after the August War, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev admitted NATO would have been expanded to admit ex-Soviet republics if Russia had not invaded Georgia in 2008 to defend a rebel region. "If you ... had faltered back in 2008, the geopolitical situation would be different now," Medvedev said in a speech to soldiers at a Vladikavkaz base.
South Ossetia
The South Ossetian government in Tskhinvali called for Russian help to prevent "genocide" when the Georgian bombardment began, saying that Tskhinvali was under "the most frightful fire".
Abkhazia
When Abkhazia launched a military operation to gain the Kodori Gorge, President Sergei Bagapsh said: "Maybe in order to achieve our goals we will have to violate certain parts of the Moscow Agreement of May 14, 1994 on a ceasefire but we were not the first to violate them."
Arrival of the Russian army in South Ossetia
Life Goes On (news article)