Mourning events dedicated to the 18th anniversary of the Georgian aggression against South Ossetia will be held in Tskhinval and outside the Republic on August 7 and 8. A memorial service for the victims will be held at the "Defenders of South Ossetia" memorial complex on the night of August 8, with participation of the Opera diva Veronika Dzhioeva, during which will be performed a song dedicated to the defenders of Tskhinval .
On the morning of August 8, memorial services for the victims of the Georgian aggression will be held in all churches in the Republic. A flower-laying ceremony will be held at the places, where the Ossetian defenders perished, including the destroyed barracks of Russian peacekeepers and the monument in the open-air "Museum of Burnt Souls," which consists of a circle of mangled vehicles shot at along with refugees attempting to leave the city during the attack. The participants will also honor the memory of the Budyonnovsky Regiment pilot Vladimir Yedamenko by laying flowers at his monument.
According to the South Ossetian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commemorative events will also be held outside the Republic on August 8 to mark the 18th anniversary of the start of the Georgia's military aggression against South Ossetia.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM in Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral (Lower Church) for the fallen South Ossetian civilians, the defenders of Tskhinval, the Ossetian and Russian peacekeeping forces, and the soldiers and officers of the Russian army who sacrificed their lives to protect South Ossetia from physical annihilation.
A service in memory of the victims of the Georgian aggression in August 2008 will also be held at 12:00 PM in the Sukhum Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
A "Candle of Remembrance" service will also be held in Vladikavkaz on August 8 at the St. George Cathedral
