Yup. The Russians attacked when Georgia started shelling its own territory. Wait a minute....
South Ossetia declared its independence from Georgia back in 1990 (sort of like another country did in 1776).
War ensued and a ceasefire was agreed to by Georgia and the rebels.
“The ceasefire agreement left South Ossetia divided into areas controlled by Georgia and areas controlled by the unrecognised government of South Ossetia. It also created the Joint Control Commission (including Georgia, Russia, North Ossetia and South Ossetia) and, under JCC mandate, introduced the joint peacekeeping forces (JPKF), made up of Georgian, Russian and Ossetian soldiers.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991%E2%80%9392_South_Ossetia_War
Saakashvili violated this longstanding agreement when he attacked South Ossetia in 2008 as the EU admitted.