after the ceasefire agreement was negotiated). The Russian Black Sea Fleet blockaded the Georgian coast. A campaign of ethnic cleansing against Georgians in South Ossetia was conducted by South Ossetians, with Georgian villages around Tskhinvali being destroyed after the war had ended. The war displaced 192,000 people, and while many were able to return to their homes after the war, a year later around 30,000 ethnic Georgians remained displaced. In an interview published in Kommersant, South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity said he would not allow Georgians to return. President of France Nicolas Sarkozy negotiated a ceasefire agreement on 12 August 2008. On 17 August, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev announced that Russian forces would begin to pull out of Georgia the following day. Russia recognised Abkhazia and South Ossetia as separate republics on 26 August. In response to Russia's recognition, the Georgian government severed diplomatic relations with Russia. Russian forces left the buffer areas bordering Abkhazia and South Ossetia on 8 October and the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia assumed authority over the buffer areas. Since the war, Georgia has maintained that Abkhazia and South Ossetia are Russian-occupied Georgian territories. On 30 September 2009, the European Union–sponsored Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Conflict in Georgia stated that, while preceded by months of mutual provocations, "open hostilities began with a large-scale Georgian military operation against the town of Tskhinvali and the surrounding areas, launched in the night of 7 to 8 August 2008." After the 2008 war In 2016, a referendum on integration with Russia was proposed during an election campaign, but was put on hold indefinitely. A referendum on South Ossetia's official name was held on 9 April 2017; over three-quarters of those who voted supported amendments to the South Ossetian constitution which gave the names "Republic of South Ossetia" and "State of Alania" equal status under the law. President Anatoly Bibilov announced on 26 March 2022 that South Ossetian troops had been sent to assist Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. Bibilov announced on 30 March 2022 that South Ossetia would initiate the legal process to become part of Russia. Russian politicians reacted positively and said Russian law would permit (parts of) foreign nations to join the federation. They highlighted the necessity to "express the will of the Ossetian people" through a referendum. Ossetian leader Bibilov said in a lengthy interview that he planned to hold two referendums,