From an online chat I had with a reader. I cleaned up my spelling and grammar… slightly:
After Georgia came out of its civil war, there were three provinces that had declared Independence and were backed by Russia.
Russia gave the residents of these provinces Russian passports, the local governments military aid, etc
a few years ago Georgia reincorporated one of them.
A few months ago Georgian UAVs (given to them by US) started being shot down by Russian fighters — supposedly belonging to the local governments, but piloted by Russians.
exactly what happened is unclear, but this morning Georgia first complained about Russian bombing, then shot down 2 Russian planes, then Russia sent/is sending its army into one of the 2 secessionist regions.
I assume this is revenge for what’s happening in Serbia — us recognizing Kosovo and then arresting Karadic (the former president of the Serbian Republic in Bosnia).