Roki Tunnel
A captain in the 135th Regiment, Denis Sidristy, said in the interview published by "Krasnaya Zvezda" that his unit had been ordered to move to Tskhinvali on 7 August. Sidristy said that he witnessed the Georgian attack on Tskhinvali around midnight. According to a senior Russian official, General Uvarov, the first Russian combat unit, the First Battalion of the 135th Motorized Rifle Regiment, was ordered at around dawn of 8 August to move through the Roki Tunnel. According to him, the unit did not pass through the tunnel until 2:30 PM. According to him, it reached Tskhinvali in the next evening, having met heavy resistance from Georgians. Georgia disputed the account, saying that it was in heavy combat with Russian forces near the tunnel long before dawn of 8 August. According to "Der Spiegel", Russian troops did not begin marching through the tunnel until roughly 11 AM on 8 August.