From Beijing to Paris: Russia’s Olympic Invasions

With the Paris Olympics underway, Russia's pattern of launching wars during global games resurfaces, from Georgia in 2008 to Ukraine in 2022, haunting international peace.

As the world turns its gaze towards the grandeur of the Summer Olympics opening in Paris, an unsettling pattern re-emerges, casting a shadow over the global celebration of unity and peace. The historical precedent is stark and undeniable: the Russian Federation has demonstrated a disturbing propensity to exploit the international distraction provided by the Olympics to launch military offensives, achieving significant strategic advantages at the cost of international stability and human lives.

2008 Beijing Olympics: The Russo-Georgian War

In 2008, as Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics, an event intended to symbolise harmony among nations, Russia initiated a swift and brutal conflict against Georgia. On August 7, 2008, just one day before the opening ceremony, Georgian forces moved into South Ossetia, a breakaway region. Russia, claiming to protect its citizens and peacekeepers in the region, launched a full-scale military intervention.

The war lasted only five days, yet its impact was pr…