The Bombardment on Tskhinvali South Ossetia Begins

At 11:35 p.m. on the 7th of August 2008, more than 100 heavy mortars, artillery pieces, and multiple launch rocket systems, better known as MLRS, open fire on Tskhinvali. 122-mm, 152-mm, and 203-mm tube artillery batteries, and BM-21 Grad rocket artillery launch high explosives at the city. The original plan had been to only target key strategic locations within Tskhinvali, but the accuracy of the artillery fire is poor, showering residential neighborhoods and military targets alike. Some shells land to the north of the city, exploding in the majority Georgian enclave of villages. By dawn, large parts of Tskhinvali are burning.