For the first time in nearly four years, Ukraine has appointed an ambassador to Georgia. President Volodymyr Zelenskyi named Mykhailo Brodovych to the post, which had been vacant since spring 2022, shortly after the start of Russia’s full-scale war and amid escalating tensions between Kyiv and Tbilisi.
Brodovych, named to the post by Zelenskyi’s 26 January order, has worked in Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry since 1996. Prior to his assignment to Georgia, he served as an ambassador to Slovenia from 2015 to 2022.
Kyiv recalled its former ambassador to Tbilisi, Ihor Dolhov, for consultations on 1 March 2022. At the time, Zelenskyi cited what he described as the Georgian government’s ‘immoral position’ on sanctions against Russia, as well as Georgia’s decision to block a charter flight intended to transport Georgian volunteer fighters to Ukraine.
Later, on 31 March, Zelenskyi signed a decree formally recalling Dolhov alongside the Ambassador of Ukraine in Morocco. He openly criticised their lack of concrete results to help Ukraine’s war-time efforts
‘With all due respect: if there will be no weapons, if there will be no sanctions, if there will be no restrictions on Russian business — please look for another job’.
Before the appointment of Brodovych, the post was headed by a chargé d’affaires. In 2024, it was reported that Ukraine’s then-foreign minister, Andrii Sabiha, recalled the acting envoy, Mykhailo Kharishyn, hinting at his alleged detachment from the realities of the war.
Once close allies, Georgia’s relations with Ukraine have soured in recent years, especially since the beginning of the full-scale war, with Georgian Dream leaders, including Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, routinely criticising the country. Georgian security services have also accused Georgian volunteer fighters in Ukraine of trying to orchestrate a coup back in Georgia along with the support of Ukrainian officials.
In the context of war, the ruling party often refers to the ‘deep state’ and ‘global war party’ — two nebulous terms that regularly feature in Georgian Dream’s conspiracy theory-tinged rhetoric. According to the party, these shadowy forces have infiltrated political circles in the West, dragged Ukraine into war, and are trying to do the same in Georgia.
One point of tension is Zelenskyi’s relationship with Georgia’s former president, Mikheil Saakashvili, who is currently imprisoned, and his United National Movement (UNM) party.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
Saakashvili holds Ukrainian citizenship, which he obtained after 2013, following the end of his presidential term in Georgia. He then moved to Ukraine, where he held several state positions. Until leaving Ukraine in 2021 — and later being imprisoned upon his return to Georgia — he served as Chair of the Executive Reforms Committee, appointed by Zelenskyi.
Saakashvili’s condition while imprisoned prompted Kyiv in 2023 to ask Georgia’s ambassador in Kyiv, Giorgi Zakharashvili, to return home and consult on his transfer. Zakharashvili left Ukraine, while Georgia’s then-Foreign Minister, Ilia Darchiashvili, said ‘friends do not deserve such treatment’.
Darchiashvili that time ruled out any transfer consultations and stated that Zakharashvili would stay in Georgia and keep performing his duties from there.
Nate Ostiller
