The upheavals brought about by the current war extend beyond Ukraine and Russia.

They also affect South Ossetia, the territory separating from Georgia and recognized as a "state" by Moscow in 2008, which the ruler there said on Russian state television on Wednesday would soon vote on joining Russia.

Frederick Smith

Political correspondent for Russia and the CIS in Moscow.

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Now the message came from there that Eduard Kokojty, who acted as the "president" of the entity from 2001 to 2011, demanded that the Ossetians, who fought alongside the Russian soldiers in Ukraine, be guaranteed at least "basic conditions".

"They are not cannon fodder," Kokojty said, according to Echo Kawkasa, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Caucasus service.

“We are few anyway.

We've practically lost the gene pool anyway,” complained Kokojty.

In South Ossetia, as in the neighboring Russian republic of North Ossetia, the vast majority are Ossetians.

However, the Georgian government, which does not control South Ossetia, is convinced that the region's population is in fact far fewer than the 56,000 or so "officially" stated.

Kokojty, who now appears as an opposition figure, said the young people now at risk of dying in Ukraine are "the youth who are just getting on their feet."

No one says no to war"

In addition, Kokojty stated that he was personally acquainted with a soldier from South Ossetia who died in Ukraine in mid-March.

“He didn't even hold his son in his hands.

The son remains an orphan.

And how many such are there now.

Let's think about it.

Let's at least agree on this to save our boys.” However, Kokojty emphasized that he supports the war.

If Russia loses, "we all lose," he said.

Like Abkhazia, which also broke away from Georgia, South Ossetia is dependent on Russia, which has soldiers stationed in both areas.

According to the latest information from the Ukrainian general staff, around 2,000 soldiers have been transferred to Ukraine from South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

This is justified in Kyiv with supply problems of the Russian armed forces.

Kokojty pointed out that nobody in Ossetia says 'no' to the war.

"On the contrary, we say: 'Yes, we support Putin, we support Russia.'

That is our obligation as a strategic partner.” In mid-March, “Echo Kawkasa” reported for the first time that professional soldiers from South Ossetia were being sent to the Ukraine war;

Videos showed tanks and armored vehicles flying Russian and South Ossetian flags.

Last weekend it was reported that more soldiers had been transferred from South Ossetia, allegedly “around 150 boys”.

The current "president" of South Ossetia, Anatoly Bibilov, said that the soldiers "understand wonderfully that they go to protect Russia, go to protect Ossetia".

The fact that Bibilov is collecting humanitarian supplies for the soldiers in the South Ossetian "capital" Tskhinvali is also likely to testify to the supply shortages in the Russian army, which are reported from Ukraine.