First Deputy Head of the Russian Presidential Executive Office Sergei Kiriyenko and the head of the South Ossetian state Alan Gagloev laid flowers at the monument to the Russian peacekeepers perished defending South Ossetia.
On the night of August 8, 2008, Georgia launched the armed attack on South Ossetia and Russian peacekeepers were among the first to take the brunt of the enemy's attacks. Over several days of fighting, 71 Russian servicemen were killed.
This event became a turning point in the history of Ossetia and Russia, as a result of which the independence of South Ossetia was recognized.
