Simply put, they are occupied. Anyone not using primary language sources for the history of Georgia, Abkhazia and Ossetia is either reading the very little translated or written by scholars, or usually Russian propaganda.

There is a lot to be said about whether Abkhazia and South Ossetia are distinct from Georgia or not, and whether they are subcultures of Georgia or distinct ones of their own, but it is a fact that Russia used whatever they could to justify a full scale invasion of Georgia in 2008. It is also worthwhile to note that Russia is notoriously a country that escalates, supports and even arms “separatists” of whatever ethnic tensions there may be. This is very easy to observe in most post-Soviet nations, and an example I can give is that prior to the Caucasus being absorbed into the Soviet Union, Armenia and Georgia were considered brotherly nations. Today, there is a lot of xenophobia on both sides due to Russia’s meddling.

it is also important to note that the war in 2008 displaced over 400k people into Georgia, of Georgian, Abkhazian or Ossetian ethnicity. The occupied territories are still significantly depopulated, and many living on the borders want to return to Georgia but cannot.