War correspondent Vadim Rechkalov (LJ user voinodel) has posted an Aug. 9 interview with a Russian soldier [1] (RUS) who said they had fired at least 20 Grad [2] “packages” (each “package” has 40 rockets, which makes it around 800 rockets) at Tskhinvali on Aug. 8 – because they “had to seize the city.” (Overnight, Rechkalov's post has become #4 most popular item in the Russian blogosphere, according to Yandex Blogs portal – and then it rose to #2; in the first 24 hours it has generated nearly 1,000 comments.) [Update, Jan. 15: the post has since been deleted; Google's cache is here [3].)
Russia: Firing Grad Rockets at Tskhinvali on Aug. 8?
· Written by Veronica Khokhlova
Categories: Central Asia & Caucasus, Eastern & Central Europe, Georgia, Russia, Human Rights, International Relations, War & Conflict