On this day in the territory controlled by the troops of the State Council of Georgia, 85 people
were killed on board of Russian Air Force Mi-8 helicopter shot down by MANPADS which was
carrying out a humanitarian flight agreed upon with the warring parties from Tkuarchal to Gudauta.
Among the dead were 35 children and 8 pregnant women fleeing hunger and war. In modern
conditions the policy of double standards and degradation of International law, including countries
declaring their exclusive attitude to humanitarian issues, do not condemn but sometimes even
approve the bombing of civilians, the taking of civilian hostages, thus the tragedy that unfolded on
December 14, 1992 in Abkhazia serves as a reminder of the inadmissibility of the targeted use of
destructive weapons against civilians.
War is an absolute evil accompanied by all those aspects that we call the horrors of war. But even
war must be conducted according to the rules of the relevant conventions. Unfortunately,
especially against the backdrop of events taking place in the world in the 21st century the list of
war crimes continues to grow.
The pain of the tragic loss of loved ones does not go away with time. All of Abkhazia mourns with
the families and relatives of those killed in the fire of a helicopter shot down on December 14, 1992.