Who Started the Russo-Georgian War?

In fact, Saakashvili is falling right into a Russian trap as Vladimir Putin has been hoping that Georgia would make the first move in the Caucuses. Behind the scenes, Moscow has been encouraging South Ossetia to launch escalatory attacks on Georgian communities near the border in order to draw Georgia into a conflict it cannot win. When Saakashvili makes his move, the Kremlin will claim it is acting in self-defense by intervening on behalf of South Ossetia. Assigning responsibility for the outbreak of the war is a highly contested and controversial topic. Even to this day, many still disagree on the causes and whether long and short-term factors are more important to understanding why war broke out. Many blame both sides.