Armed Forces of South Ossetia

Armed Forces of South Ossetia
Service branches
  • South Ossetian Army
  • South Ossetian Air Corps
Headquarters Tskhinvali
Leadership
Supreme Commander in Chief Anatoliy Bibilov
Minister of Defense Lieutenant-General Ibrahim Gazseev
Chief of the General Staff Colonel Viktor Fedorov
Industry
Domestic suppliers N/A
Foreign suppliers  Russia
Related articles
History

The Armed Forces of South Ossetia is the military of the partially recognised state of South Ossetia. The force numbers about 500 men, or 1,500, including reservists.[1] In includes an Army and an Air Corp.

The South Ossetian Army was formed in 1992, and is the primary defense force in the breakaway sovereign region of South Ossetia, largely considered to be within recognized Georgian territory.

History

A South Ossetian Soldier in 2011.

2008 South Ossetia war

The South Ossetian military fought against the Georgian forces in the 2008 South Ossetia war. At the time of the major Georgian offensive, the bulk of the Ossetian force was concentrated in the settlement of Java to the north of Tskhinvali.[2] According to Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, what thwarted the Georgian operation in the end was the resistance offered by peacekeepers and lightly armed South Ossetian units that stayed behind to defend the capital.[2] Also Russian regular army forces entered the fighting on August 8 and drove deep into Georgia proper, occasionally accompanied or followed by South Ossetian militia who allegedly committed serious human rights violations, particularly in the Georgian villages of South Ossetia.[3]

According one estimate, the losses of the South Ossetian military forces, militia, and volunteers in the war amounted to 150 dead.[4][5] According to the 2012 statement by the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, Russia had been training the South Ossetian militias as part of the Russian General Staff's 2006–2007 plan to rebuff Georgia in case of war.[6]

Partial incorporation into Russian Armed Forces

In March 2015, members of the Parliament of South Ossetia put forward a proposal to dissolve South Ossetia's military and fold it into the Russian Armed Forces, but the proposal was ultimately rejected by Leonid Tibilov and Defense Minister Ibragim Gassayev. The South Ossetian units were to be incorporated into the Russian military but remain separate units.[7]

On 31 March 2017, defence ministers of the two countries signed agreements whereby some units of the armed forces of South Ossetia would go under Russia′s command.[8]

Strength

Members of the South Ossetian armed forces during a parade in Tskhinvali in May, 2009
Armoured vehicles during the September, 2009 parade in commemoration of the declaration of independence in Tskhinvali

The South Ossetian military has a total of 16,000 soldiers. 2,500 soldiers are on active duty and 13,500 are reservists.

At the beginning of the 2008 South Ossetia war, the armed forces possessed the following equipment:[9][10][11][12][13]

After the 2008 South Ossetia War, some of the tanks captured from Georgia's forces have been transferred to the South Ossetian military.

Retired equipment

  • IS-2 - phased out of service since 1995.
  • IS-3 - phased out of service since 1995.
  • T-10 - phased out of service since 1995.
  • Grom - Captured in Russo-Georgian war. Probably no longer in service.[16]

Army

A South Ossetian military colour guard during a parade in Donetsk in 2018.

Formations

Army Headquarters

The Guard of Honour company.
  • General Staff
  • Intelligence Company
  • Communications Battalion
  • Transport Battalion
  • Special Forces Company
  • Sniper Company
  • Engineering Company
  • Security Company
  • Republican Guard (founded in 1991[17])
  • Guard of Honour
  • Military Brass Band of the Ministry of Defense (founded in 1996[18][19])

Regular Army

  • 10 Battalion
  • 11 Battalion
  • 13 Battalion
  • 15 Battalion
  • Tank Brigade
  • Logistics Brigade

Reserve Army

  • 17 Battalion
  • 18 Battalion
  • 19 Battalion
  • 20 Battalion
  • 21 Battalion
  • 22 Battalion
  • 23 Battalion
  • 25 Battalion
  • 26 Battalion

Personnel and Training

There are 2500 active members and approximately 16000 reserve members within the South Ossetian Army (SOA). Training within the SOA is conducted by both experienced South Ossetic troops and members of the Russian VDV. In August 2009 the SOA and Russia reorganized the 4 Air Mobile Brigade, as a joint forces brigade, which would have an active Russian military base in South Ossetia. The Russian Airborne Troops are reported to have established an active military base outside of Java, South Ossetia and are reported to have trained SOA recruits since the summer of 2009.

Parts of uniform

Beret colours

Combat uniform

All uniforms are donated by the Russian Ground Forces, the tri-coloured Flora pattern is standard issue throughout the SOA. But when the organization of the SOA is completed by the South Ossetic Defence Ministry in 2012. It is planned that the SOA will be wearing a variant of the Ukrainian BDU camouflage.

Conflicts

South Ossetic Army Spetsnaz

It is rumored that the SOA has established a small company-sized group of specially trained SOA Spetsnaz based out of 4 Air Mobile Brigade HQ in Java. The SOA Spetsnaz is reported to have been training in Russia since late 2009, and has a strength of approximately 65 personnel. If existent, the SOA Spetsnaz would be highly trained in Direct Action, Special Reconnaissance, Search and Destroy, and personnel recovery missions. The SOA Spetsnaz would be distinguishable by their scarlet berets.

References

  1. ↑ "What will be the outcome of the Georgian-Ossetian war?". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  2. 1 2 The Russian Air Force didn't perform well during the conflict in South Ossetia Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies 2008-11-15
  3. ↑ Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Conflict in Georgia(September 2009), 211 Archived February 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Barabanov, Mikhail (2008-09-12). "The August War between Russia and Georgia". Moscow Defense Brief. Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. 3 (13). Archived from the original on April 4, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Moscow Defense Brief". Archived from the original on 4 April 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  6. ↑ Russia had plan to rebuff Georgian aggression – Putin. The Voice of Russia. August 8, 2012.
  7. ↑ Kucera, Joshua (January 19, 2017). "South Ossetia Keeps Its Military, For Now". EurasiaNet. Archived from the original on January 21, 2017. South Ossetia's armed forces will become part of the Russian armed forces but will retain separate units, the self-declared republic's authorities have announced. The plan appears to be a compromise worked out between the de facto leadership in Tskhinvali and their patrons in Moscow [...] In 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his de facto South Ossetian counterpart Leonid Tibilov signed an agreement on "alliance and integration" which included a provision calling for "certain units of the armed forces of South Ossetia to enter the structure" of the Russian military.
  8. ↑ Подписано соглашение о вхождении части подразделений армии Южной Осетии в ВС РФ TASS, 31 March 2017.
  9. ↑ Archived June 10, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ "— —". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  11. ↑ "N 98 (4 2008):  :  :". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  12. ↑ "CryptoGSM : СМИ о прослушивании GSM : Грузия : Война в Южной Осетии: сколько на самом деле потеряла Россия". Archived from the original on 22 January 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  13. ↑ "Статьи: Lenta.ru: Наука и техника: Расстановка сил". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  14. ↑ "Фоторепотраж с празднования 18-летия РЮО » АЛАНИЯинформ". osinform.ru.
  15. ↑ Georgia, Civil. "Civil.Ge - Tskhinvali Celebrated ‘Independence Day’". www.civil.ge. C1 control character in |title= at position 34 (help)
  16. ↑ "WikiLeaks o GROM-ach w Czeczenii".
  17. ↑ Республиканская гвардия Осетии
  18. ↑ В военный оркестр Минобороны набирают музыкантов
  19. ↑ Военный оркестр Минобороны Южной Осетии набирает музыкантов
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