MOSCOW, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Georgian troops have killed 12 Russian peacekeeping soldiers so far in clashes in the separatist region of South Ossetia, a senior Russian defence ministry official said on Saturday.

Col-Gen Anatoly Nagovitsyn of the Russian Defence Ministry told reporters that Russia was sending additional reinforcements to the region, but added the decision was in line with Moscow's peacekeeping obligations.

"As a result of action by Georgian troops we have irreversible losses of 12 servicemen on the Russian side and about 150 wounded," Nagovitsyn said.

Russian troops poured into South Ossetia on Friday, hours after Georgia launched a military offensive aimed at restoring control over South Ossetia, a region it lost after a war in the early 1990s.

Nagovitsyn confirmed two Russian military aircraft have been gunned down by Georgian forces and said Russia was sending additional troops from Russia's Ivanovo, Pskov, Moscow regions.

"The aim is to reinforce the strength of Russian peacekeepers, to prepare and realise operations aimed at instilling peace on both sides which is in line with their UN mandate," he said. (Writing by Maria Golovnina; Editing by Giles Elgood)

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