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Putin’s 1st Red Flag: The Five Day War
Many have been surprised by Vladimir Putin’s expansionism in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and subsequent war in Ukraine’s Donbas region, by backing Russian separatist troops.
Putin’s support of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria in 2015 and interference in the United States’ election in 2016 was less of a surprise to those who were watching closely.
But Putin rarely showed red flags before he invaded Georgia. In fact, up until 2007, when he was openly critical of the West at a conference in Germany, there were not that many signs of Putin’s imperialism. Need I remind you, that Putin was once openly advocating for inclusion in NATO, at a time when George W. Bush described him as an honest and trustworthy man.
So, what happened in Georgia? Why was it a red flag?
Russia’s invasion of Georgia is known as the “five-day war” because it lasted for, you guessed it, five days. Putin used this opportunity as an excuse to defend his interests in Georgia, which was trying to deal with separatists.
Let me explain.
In early August of 2008, about half of the Georgian military (approximately 13,000 troops) marched to Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian capital, to take it over from South Ossetian separatists who were shelling villages in Georgia.
