MOSCOW, July 3 (RIA Novosti) - Russian investigations into Georgia's attack on South Ossetia last August have found that the onslaught killed, injured or damaged the homes of a total of 5,315 people, Russia's chief investigator said on Friday.
"We have conclusively proved the nature of the crimes - genocide and mass killings of civilians. A total of 5,315 people have been found to have been harmed in this case," the head of the Investigation Committee at the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, Alexander Bastrykin, said.
The republic is home to around 70,000 people, most of whom have Russian citizenship.
Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war last August, which began when Georgian forces attacked South Ossetia in a bid to bring it back under central control. Two weeks after the end of the war, Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another former Georgian republic, as independent states.
