Zelensky imposed sanctions against Georgia

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Georgian Dream leader Bidzina Ivanishvili were hit by Ukrainian sanctions . The reason was the dispersal of opposition protests. The Kremlin called it an attempt to "destabilize the situation" within the country Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree introducing sanctions against the Georgian leadership. He announced this in a video message on his TELEGRAM channel.

Ukraine has imposed sanctions against the Georgian authorities for dispersing opposition protests. The restrictive measures include, in particular, the country's Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and other representatives of the leadership, including the leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili.

"These are sanctions against that part of the Georgian government that is now handing Georgia over to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. <...> We cannot lose anyone in this region: neither Georgia, nor Moldova, nor Ukraine. We must defend ourselves against Moscow together," Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian president also called on the EU , the US and the entire world to "act principledly" on the issue. He had previously called the dispersal of opposition rallies "a disgrace" because of the Georgian Dream's policy towards the West.

Georgia received candidate status for EU membership in December 2023. However, after the republic adopted the “foreign agent law,” the process of joining the bloc was suspended. The United States pointed to human rights violations and imposed visa restrictions on dozens of Georgian citizens. Amid the current protests, Washington announced the preparation of additional sanctions.

The domestic political situation in Georgia worsened after the parliamentary elections in late October, which were won again by the Georgian Dream. The results of the vote were not recognized by the opposition parties and President Salome Zurabishvili. A month later, Kobakhidze announced the freezing of negotiations on Georgia's accession to the EU until the end of 2028 and the refusal of European financial assistance. All this time, protests have been taking place in the republic, accompanied by clashes with security forces. Kobakhidze compared the current situation to the Maidan, but considered it an unsuccessful attempt to implement such a scenario.

The Kremlin called the opposition protests Georgia's internal situation, but linked them to "an attempt to destabilize the situation." The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, considered Ukraine's sanctions against members of the Georgian government "a game of magistrate."

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