Monthly Review

Review of the Participation of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region in Russia’s Military Aggression in Ukraine

2023 / 11 / 17

Publication: N2 / Review Period: July 15 - November 15, 2023 / Author: Arsen Araqelov

Review of the Participation of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region in Russia's Military Aggression in Ukraine is being prepared within the framework of the project - Roadmap to Kremlin's Policy in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region. The purpose of the publication is to monitor the military and humanitarian involvement of the occupied regions of Georgia in the Russian military aggression in Ukraine. The review will be useful for decision-makers, public employees, the media, representatives of international governmental and non-governmental organizations, and other people who are interested in the participation of the Georgian occupied regions in the Russian aggression.

Fighters Participating in the Military Aggression

Representatives of the occupied regions are participating in Russia's military aggression in Ukraine, a large part of which, from the very first days of the war, have been involved in military operations. Fighters from Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region are mainly united in different volunteer battalions. A part of ethnic Ossetians from the Tskhinvali region serves at the 4th Russian military base and represent the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine.

Ethnic Abkhaz fighters mainly make up the so-called Piatnashka international brigade. The Piatnashka brigade is an illegal armed formation which has been under the 100th Motorized Infantry Brigade of the 1st Army Corps of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. The Commander of the unit is an ethnic Abkhaz, Akhra Avidzba, nicknamed Abkhaz.

The largest number of ethnic Ossetians are enlisted in the following two formations: Storm Ossetia and Alania. Their activity is often observed in temporarily occupied parts of the Zaporizhzhia region. The battalions include ethnic Ossetian volunteers from both North Ossetia and the Tskhinvali region.

From July 15 to November 15, 2023, a total of six people from the Tskhinvali region fighting on the Russian side in Ukraine were reported dead: Giorgi Besaev, Artur Khachirov, Fidar Kulumbekov, Soslan Gabaraev, Alan Gigolayev and Vadim Dudayev. According to information confirmed in open sources, the number of fighters from the Tskhinvali region who were killed while participating in Russia's aggression in Ukraine totals 38. As for Abkhazia, number of killed fighters participating in the Russian aggression in Ukraine is 16; there were no confirmed reports of the death of Abkhaz fighters in July-November.

For more details about the fighters from the occupied regions who died during the Russian military aggression in Ukraine, please see the interactive map.

Giorgi Besaev

Besaev fought in the ranks of the Russian Armed Forces from the very beginning of the Russian military aggression in Ukraine. He is presumed to have died on September 1, 2023.

Giorgi Besaev

Artur Khachirov

On September 2, Khachirov was seen off on his last journey in the village of Dmenisi. He is presumed to have died on August 27. The de facto President of the Tskhinvali region, Alan Gagloyev, also attended the public funeral.

Funeral of Artur Khachirov

Fidar Kulumbekov

On September 20, a funeral ceremony for Kulumbekov was held in the village of Nogkau, the Tskhinvali region. He died on September 19. The chairman of the de facto government, Konstantine Jusoev, attended the public funeral.

Funeral of Fidar Kulumbekov

Soslan Gabaraev

On October 11, a funeral ceremony for Gabaraev was held in the Tskhinvali region. He is presumed to have died around October 9, 2023. Gagloyev also attended the public funeral.

Funeral of Soslan Gabaraev

Alan Gigolayev

Gigolayev died on October 24, 2023.

Alan Gigolayev

Vadim Dudaye

Dudaev last contacted his relatives on October 19. His death was confirmed on November 2.

Vadim Dudayev

Putin’s Award

By a decree of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, Dzambolat Valiev, a fighter from the Tskhinvali region who took part in the Russian military aggression in Ukraine, was awarded the order For Courage. Valiev has been participating in Russia's military aggression since the first days.

Handing Over the Order to Valiyev

Gagloyev’s Award

The de facto President of the Tskhinvali region, Alan Gagloyev, presented the medal of Defender of the Motherland to Soslan Kotolov, a fighter from the Tskhinvali region who has been participating in Russia's military aggression in Ukraine since the first days. He was wounded three times during the hostilities and is currently undergoing rehabilitation.

Gagloyev with Kotolev

Humanitarian Assistance and Other Support

Since February 24, 2022, the beginning of the Russian full-scale military aggression in Ukraine, the occupied regions often held events in support of the Russian Army. These events are mostly organized by the de facto governments, Russian compatriots living in the occupied regions or the Federal Agency for CIS, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Affairs. The support is mainly expressed in cultural and charity events, and humanitarian and financial aid.

Financial and Technical Support

  • In August, the de facto President of the Tskhinvali region, Alan Gagloyev, and the Head of the Republic of North Ossetia - Alanya, Sergey Menyaylo, sent kamikaze drones, purchased with their own funds, to the Ossetian units fighting on the front. As per Ossetian media reports, the Ossetian fighters even nicknamed the drones “Usurper.”

Drones

  • In September, Gagloyev and Menyaylo again sent aid to the Ossetian units, namely technical equipment and several dozen long-range drones.
  • The so-called administration of the city of Tskhinvali, sent financial aid in the amount of RUB 405 thousand (approx. USD 4,500) to the fighters participating in the Russian military aggression in Ukraine. As stated, the funds were collected from charity concerts and by administration employees.
  • Ethnic Ossetians living in the Stavropol district, activists of the Ossetian Cultural-Educational Society Alanya organization delivered 5,000 tons of humanitarian aid to their compatriots on the front: meat, cookies, sweets and bottled water. In return, they received a flag from the fighters with the inscription - Warrior.

Gift to Ossetian Compatriots

  • In September, Gagloyev sent one UAZ (nicknamed Bukhanka) and six Niva vehicles as humanitarian aid to his compatriots fighting in Ukraine.
  • Schoolchildren of the 2nd school of the occupied Tskhinvali region continue to make camouflage nets for Ossetian fighters participating in the Russian aggression in Ukraine. According to a teacher of the school, labor lessons are devoted to preparing camouflage nets and the students are enthusiastically involved in this process aimed at helping their compatriots. The first batch of camouflage nets was sent to the front in the summer. As schoolteachers stated, they need help and are calling on the local community to get active so that the students can make the nets faster.

Preparing Camouflage Nets

Sports Events and Concerts

  • A hand-to-hand combat tournament was held int he Tskhinvali region. The tournament was dedicated to Ruslan Besaev, a fighter from the Tskhinvali region who died in the Russian military aggression in Ukraine. Besaev was an employee of the so-called Ministry of Defense of the Tskhinvali region. He volunteered to fight in the war in Ukraine. At different times, he served in the Ossetian peacekeeping battalion, as well as in various units of the so-called Ministry of Defense. Besaev participated in battles against the Georgian Armed Forces in 2004-2008. He died in in Mariupol, the Donetsk region, on April 12, 2022. Besaev was an athlete. At the end of the tournament, his family was symbolically awarded the Black Belt of the master of hand-to-hand combat sports. Gagloyev and the so-called Ambassador of Russia to the region, Marat Kulakhmetov, actively participated in the organization process of the tournament.
  • Leila Margieva, a singer in the Tskhinvali region, gave a concert for the fighters who participated in the Russian military aggression in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine. The mentioned event was planned with the support of Soslan Andiev, the Head of the United Humanitarian Center of the Tskhinvali region.

Margieva and Russian Soldiers

Educational Quotas for Fighters’ Children  

  • According to Sergei Tsekov, a member of the Russian Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, the Russian government will allocate two additional quotas for the admission of schoolchildren from the Tskhinvali region to Russian schools. In the 2023-24 academic year, the Russian government allocated 22 places for the region, however, as Tsekov stated, two additional schoolchildren whose parents were killed in Ukraine during Russia's military aggression will be admitted to Russian schools.

Propaganda Activities

  • Albert Laliev, a singer living in the Tskhinvali region, recorded a song called “Sons of the Mountains of Alanya” on the lyrics written by an Ossetian compatriot fighting in Ukraine.
  •  “Honored Artist” of the Tskhinvali region, Igor Tasoev, took part in a charity concert in support of Russia's aggression in Ukraine. The concert was held in Vladikavkaz. All funds raised from the concert was transferred to fighters participating in the Russian aggression in Ukraine.
  • Members of the Alanya battallion visited an orphanage located in the occupied Akhalgori district, the Tskhinvali region. They distributed various toys and necessary equipment to the children. Previously, Alanya fighters visited a boarding school in the Java district and donated sports equipment.

Alanya Fighters in the Orphanage

  • Fighters of the Alanya battalion visited individuals who arrived in the Tskhinvali region from the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic. According to the Ossetian propaganda media, these people were forced to leave their homes. It should be noted that among the fighters was Astan Ostaev, a son of the Commander of Alania, Ruslan Ostaev (nicknamed - Skifa), who is from the Tskhinvali region. Father and son Ostaevs are actively participating in Russia's military aggression in Ukraine.

Alanya Fighters and Residents of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic

 

  • On October 31, 2023, information was disseminated that secondary school in the occupied village of Orchosani, Akhalgori district, will be named after Enver Dryaev. Dryaev was born in the village of Orchosani in 1992. He served in the 58th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District of Russia in Tskhinvali. In the first days of the Russian military aggression in Ukraine, he fought in the Donetsk region. On April 7, 2022, an infantry combat vehicle was hit by a shell. Dryaev was wounded and developed a contusion. He fought death for several months and died on October 28, 2022.