Ukraine returns home 65 citizens deported by Russia to the border of Georgia

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has organized the return of 65 Ukrainian citizens who were deported by Russia to the border with Georgia. This was reported to by Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga.

Among these people were 10 women and eight seriously ill. All Ukrainian citizens were held at the Georgian checkpoint "Dariani" in the context of a humanitarian crisis, Sibiga noted.

"During August 21-22, thanks to joint efforts, we managed to successfully return another large group of our citizens from Georgia to Ukraine through the territory of Moldova... We express our special gratitude to the official representatives of the Georgian and Moldovan authorities for their assistance in organizing the transit route and solving logistical issues," he said .

The Foreign Minister reminded that in previous months, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the relevant authorities, had already organized the return of a total of 44 citizens from the Russian-Georgian border. The total number of returned Ukrainians as of August 22 is 109 people.

Work on the return of the remaining citizens continues.

Sibiga noted that the humanitarian crisis on the Russian-Georgian border arose in the second half of June, when Russia deliberately began to sharply increase the number of Ukrainian citizens it deported to this checkpoint.

Ukraine has already publicly called on Russia to send them directly to the border of Ukraine, not Georgia, and the proposal remains in force.

"If Russia continues to ignore it, the only conclusion will be that the sharp increase in the number of deportees is a planned Russian operation against Ukraine. At the same time, Ukraine never leaves its people in trouble and will always prioritize the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of its citizens," the Foreign Minister emphasized .

• on July 19, Sibiga reported to Zelensky on the situation with Ukrainians being deported by Russia to Georgia. Diplomats are organizing the transit of citizens to Ukraine.
• On the same day, the Foreign Minister called on Russia to send Ukrainians not to the border with Georgia, but directly to the border with Ukraine.
• On August 5, Ukrainians at the Georgian border checkpoint Dariani announced an indefinite hunger strike and demanded that the Ukrainian consul be allowed to visit them. However, on August 8, the hunger strike was ended – a representative of the Ukrainian embassy in Tbilisi arrived at the border.