Georgia ‘did not inform’ Kyiv of explosives allegation as Russia ties conspiracy to Zelenskyi
Ukraine’s Embassy in Georgia has said they have not received any official information from Georgia on the recent arrests of two Ukrainians for smuggling explosives.
Georgian Dream officials have accused Ukraine of instructing the explosives to be brought into the country and said the incident may be tied to domestic political opposition and linked to the upcoming municipal election.
‘The Embassy of Ukraine in Georgia is constantly monitoring the information disseminated in Georgian media about the alleged “detention by Georgian law enforcement authorities of two Ukrainian citizens on suspicion of illegal transport of hexogen explosive substance” ’, the embassy wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.
The Kyiv Independent asked Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), which has been the subject of explicit accusations from Georgia on the matter, for comment, but the SBU declined to answer and directed the media outlet to the embassy’s response.
On Wednesday, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze continued to spread allegations of connections between the explosives and domestic opposition when speaking about how Georgian authorities will prevent the ‘radical opposition’ from ‘gain[ing] ground through provocations and committing criminal acts’.
‘As for the involvement of Ukraine’s security services in this matter, it is extremely concerning when representatives of Ukraine’s security agency treat our national interests so harshly. This is not the right attitude toward the Georgian people and the Georgian state’, Kobakhidze said.
Earlier this week, Georgia’s State Security Service (SSG) said that investigators were looking into connections that former Defence Minister Bacho Akhalaia, a member of the former ruling United National Movement (UNM) party, might have with the case.
Russia ups the ante
Shortly after the arrests were originally announced on 10 September, pro-Russian propagandists picked up on the story, highlighting the links with Kyiv.
As Georgian Dream has more explicitly accused Ukraine of being involved, the allegations from pro-Russian actors have also escalated, and have begun directly referencing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
On Wednesday, the staunchly pro-government Hungarian media outlet Origo published an article under the title, ‘Will Zelenskyi survive this scandal? The countdown is ticking’, referring to the explosives case.
Origo referenced Akhalaia’s alleged involvement, and said the whole affair is related to a ‘coup d’etat supported from abroad’.
The Russian state-run media outlet RIA Novosti then picked up on Origo’s article, reprinting the accusations in its own article entitled, ‘The West revealed what will happen to Zelenskyi because of the Georgia scandal’.
Georgian Dream has previously accused Ukraine-linked actors, such as the Georgian Legion and other volunteer fighters, of trying to overthrow the government. Georgia has also had a longstanding row with Ukraine over Kyiv’s refusal of Tbilisi’s request to extradite former UNM officials who live in Ukraine, some of whom work in government.
OC Media
