Georgia began to refuse to enter Ukrainians deported by Russia.
Ukrainians are waiting for border crossings in difficult conditions, and their situation hinders the lack of relevant documents.
Georgian authorities are silent, nor do they provide any help. Volunteers alert about a deteriorating situation.
Dozens of Ukrainian citizens Waiting for entry to Georgia at the control point Dariary on the Russian-Grudzinian border. They come from eastern Ukraine, which is occupied by Russia. They were imprisoned there and now they stayed deported abroad by Russia.
However, due to the ongoing war, they cannot enter Ukraine directly. This is why They are trying to go back to their country through Georgia. However, Georgian border guards refused to enter. They have to wait not to know how long in unhygienic conditions at the border crossing.
Maria Biełkina She is the head of the Volunteers Tbilisi organization, which helps Ukrainian refugees. According to her, on July 2, they were at the border crossing 32 people. They are expected to arrive even more, because the Russian authorities began to deport more and more Ukrainians from the occupied territories.
– People are forced to sleep in two or three changes, because there are only 17 sleeping places – says Belkina in an interview with DW. According to her, the Ukrainians are detained in the unfinished part of the Georgian control point, which resembles a basement.
Georgia exacerbates politics. They even stop people with documents
Georgian border officers only recently They began to require current evidence of citizenship from all Ukrainianswho want to enter the country – even if they have a valid Ukrainian passport. However, the vast majority of deported Ukrainians do not have relevant documents. Most of them stayed released from Russian detention without documents.
According to volunteers, new recipes practically paralyzed the entry of the Ukrainians to Georgia.
– While previously people with passports were passed, and the rest had to wait, now everyone is stopped, even those who have documents – says Belkina.
Georgian authorities have not yet explained why they introduced new rules for Ukrainian citizens. Aid organizers suspect that this is related to the planned adopting a new migration law. The new law is to enable the refusal to enter or deport foreigners without giving a reason.
The only way to freedom. Ukrainians deported from Russia are trying to return to their homeland
According to Maria Biełkina, the Russian authorities do not speak about the mass deportations of Ukrainians. They are formally released from prison after the end of the judgment, and then transferred to the migration service. Then it is usually published deportation order – Often without the possibility of appealing or waiting for a lawyer's call.
The problem is that most deported ones are not able to present important Ukrainian passports or Russian documents. For such Ukrainians deported from Russia, there was for a long time the only safe output from their situation.
– Until recently, it was the only state border that accepted people with only certificate of exemption and the so -called identity card: a piece of paper with a photo and oral confirmation from a friend from a cell – says Belkina.
Other countries refuse to receive people who literally have only a “piece of paper in their hands”. In recent years, Georgia has allowed entry for humanitarian reasons even with such proof of identity. But apparently now it is to be shortened.
Georgian authorities are silent. I do not react on the situation on the border
Georgian authorities do not comment on the situation on the border.
– We have not received for two years Not a single answer from the authoritiesalthough we regularly address them – complains Belkina. According to volunteers, the authorities also do not help people on the border.
Volunteers Tbilisi and his partners provide Ukrainians with food, water, medicine and everyday articles. They also provide legal assistance. According to them, the detained initially Nothing was given to eat or drink. Conservations transferred by border services have expired. In addition, some of the Ukrainians waiting at the border crossing had health problems.
Earlier on the Georgian border, deported former Ukrainian prisoners were detained, who They had to wait a long time for entry to the country.
According to Meduza, a Russian emigration media portal based in the capital of Latvia, Riga, at the end of August 2023, the Georgian authorities refused to enter six former Ukrainian prisoners. Ukrainians spent ten days at the control point. In October 2023 seven former Ukrainian prisoners It was kept there for 14 days.
Now So many people were detained for the first time at the same time. Ukrainians who got stuck on the border also informed that when the Russian police were on their way to Georgia recruit them to the army. It is not clear how long they will have to stay on the border. It is also not known where to go if they are not allowed to Georgia.
Bashir Kitachayev, Polish editors of Deutsche Welle