Georgian PM commemorates soldiers fallen in Shindisi Battle of Russia-Georgia 2008 war
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Thursday the Shindisi village battle during the Russia-Georgia 2008 war was “one of the most impressive and outstanding battles in modern Georgian history”. Photo: Government of Georgia press office
Tweet 
Share
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday commemorated a group of Georgian soldiers who heroically lost their lives during the Russia-Georgia 2008 war in a battle in central Georgia’s Shindisi village.
In his comments, Garibashvili said the Shindisi Battle was “one of the most impressive and outstanding battles in modern Georgian history”.
The dedication of the 17 heroes who died in the battle of Shindisi will always remain a proud example of our modern history and for future generations”, Garibashvili stated.
In the engagement, a 21-member detachment of Georgian soldiers came face-to-face with Russian troops in the village of Shindisi on the fourth day after the start of the conflict.
Being greatly outnumbered, they were ordered to surrender by the Russian troops but issued a strong refusal and inflicted significant losses on the enemy in a 45-minute subsequent uneven battle that also left 17 of the 21 Georgian servicemembers killed.
Seventeen of the 21 Georgian soldiers killed in Shindisi battle.
In a wider context, the war between Russia and Georgia took the lives of 169 servicemembers and professionals of the Ministry of Defence, along with 19 employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and 224 civilians.
Around 30,000 citizens of Georgia were forced to abandon their homes in the now-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region.