Russia will keep 2,142 soldiers in Abkhazia as part of its peacekeeping forces, Anatoly Nogovitsin, deputy chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, said on August 22, the Russian news agencies reported.

Exact number of Russian troops in South Ossetia and in the adjacent areas, he said, would be defined later.

Nogovitsin said that 109 armored personnel carriers (APC) – BTR-80s and BTR-70s; fourteen APCs of BTR-R145 type and four armored patrol vehicles – BRDM, as well as 34 mortar launchers will also remain in Abkhazia. 

The military unit in Abkhazia, he said, would also be supported by two Mi-24 combat helicopters and two Mi-8 helicopters.