lox...

There are genuine members of the Russian Army in S. Ossetia (a part of Georgia) right now, but there are also paid mercenaries as well as volunteers from various areas. Those who don't wear a Russian uniform but kill people are probably mercenaries being protected by the Russian Army as the former do the "dirty work". The volunteers seem to be unpaid folks who either have a grudge to settle or just want to be able to kill people.