On 10 August 2008, the Georgian government said that 6,000 Russian troops had rolled into South Ossetia from the neighbouring Russian province of North Ossetia and 4,000 more landed in Abkhazia.[1] Alexander Novitsky, an aide to the commander of Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia, said on 11 August 2008, that Russia had boosted its forces in Abkhazia and had more than 9,000 paratroopers and 350 armoured vehicles there.[7][8]