Minister of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sybiha commented on Russia's deportation of Ukrainian citizens to the border with Georgia. He suggested that Russia transport these people directly to the Ukrainian border, UNN reports with reference to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Russia uses the deportation of Ukrainian citizens through Georgia as a tool of pressure. We propose that Russia transport these people directly to the Ukrainian border.
According to him, since June, Russia has significantly increased the number of deported Ukrainian citizens, mostly former prisoners, to the border with Georgia.
As a result, dozens of people, many of whom do not have proper documents, are stuck in the transit zone. Ukrainian consuls are actively working to provide these individuals with documents and ensure their transit to Ukraine via Moldova.
The chief diplomat reminded that 43 citizens, including former political prisoner Andriy Kolomiyets, have already been evacuated this way. However, others are still in difficult conditions at the border.
We are actively cooperating with the Georgian and Moldovan sides to return the rest of our citizens to Ukraine. At the same time, there is no guarantee that Russia will not increase the number of deportees. To avoid further complications, we publicly offer Russia to transfer these Ukrainian citizens directly to the border with Ukraine. We are ready to accept them there. There are appropriate sections of the border where this can be done. We are conveying this proposal directly, as well as through international organizations via official channels.
Recall
Political prisoner Andriy Kolomiyets, who was sentenced by Russia to 10 years back in 2015, returned to Ukraine from Russia.