Tens of thousands of Georgians have taken to the streets in Tbilisi – protesting against a proposed law threatening press and civic freedoms.

The “foreign agents” bill has sparked a political crisis amid concerns it is modelled on laws used by Vladimir Putin to crack down on the media in Russia – and if passed, would make it harder for Georgia to join the EU.

Sky’s international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn is in Tbilisi:

The Georgian security forces moved in shortly after dawn this morning. Phalanxes of masked men sweeping through streets and parks outside parliament.

They kettled protesters with force. We were caught in the crush as they squeezed the crowd.

A woman screamed as she was pinned to a post by the press of people.

Crowds had ringed the parliament building all night – intent on stopping MPs from voting on laws that demonstrators believe put Georgia on the path to dictatorship, and back in the embrace of Moscow.

“They want to drag us back to autocracy, to the country they occupied us for too many years,” one protester told Sky News.

The police succeeded in clearing one entrance to parliament.

Flank after flank of interior ministry security forces backed by helmeted riot police and water cannon trucks are now in a tense standoff with a multi-coloured sea of protesters on the corner of the parliament building.

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The blue and green colours of Ukraine and the European Union jostle with the reds and white of Georgia’s national colours.

The protesters have been peaceful, but the police have not. They have unleashed snatch squads barrelling into the crowd.

Sky News witnessed masked security forces seizing one man and raining blows on his unprotected head.

The protesters have failed in their effort to cut off parliament from MPs, but their numbers are swelling.

“We will not give up,” one woman told us.

“We cannot allow them to take our freedom.”

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The government was forced to shelve the law last year in the face of bitter opposition but the Georgian Dream ruling party, regarded by many as pro-Russian, is determined to see it passed.

Russia’s defence minister is set to be replaced, more than two years into the war in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed replacing his long-time ally, Sergei Shoigu, with civilian and former deputy prime minister Andrei Belousov, who specialises in economics.

Mr Shoigu, who has served as defence minister since 2012, will take up a role as head of the national security council and have responsibilities for the military-industrial complex, the Kremlin said.

Ukraine war latest: Putin reshuffle points to ‘serious instability’

In his new role, Mr Shoigu will replace Nikolai Patrushev, whose new job will be announced soon, according to the Kremlin.

Mr Putin’s press secretary Dmitriy Peskov said the president decided the ministry of defence should be headed by a civilian to be “open to innovation and advanced ideas”.

The shuffle could also be seen as an attempt by Mr Putin to scrutinise defence spending after a Shoigu ally, deputy defence minister Timur Ivanov, was accused by state prosecutors of taking a bribe.

But the changes make sense, Mr Peskov claims, because Russia is approaching a situation like the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s, when the military and law enforcement authorities accounted for 7.4% of spending.

Former MI6 intelligence officer, Christopher Steele, who ran the Russia desk between 2006 and 2009, told Sky News he takes Mr Peskov’s words “with a pinch of salt”.

“It seems to me that probably the reason he’s chosen Belousov is because he’s not really any kind of player in the system or any sort of threat to Putin,” he added.

He also said Mr Patrushev’s appointment may hint at instability “right underneath him in the top leadership”.

“It was clear to most of us Russia-watchers for some time that Patrushev was lining up his son, Dmitry, who’s the current agriculture minister, to be Putin’s successor as president,” he said.

“And there have been some indications that there’s been some serious instability at the top in Russia in recent months… so I think that this really is a very significant move by Putin.”

Commenting on Mr Shoigu’s removal, the UK’s defence minister Grant Shapps said he leaves with a “disastrous legacy”.

“Sergei Shoigu has overseen over 355,000 casualties among his own soldiers and mass civilian suffering with an illegal campaign in Ukraine,” he said.

“Russia needs a defence minister who would undo that disastrous legacy and end the invasion – but all they’ll get is another of Putin’s puppets.”

Parliament’s approval of the new appointments are all but guaranteed, as there is virtually no opposition.

By law, the government in Russia had to resign just before Mr Putin was sworn in as president for another six-year term on Tuesday.

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Analysts have said he is looking to project an image of stability and satisfaction with his team’s progress, with Mikhail Mishustin remaining in post as prime minister on Friday.

As he continues to confirm his top team, Mr Putin has also proposed Sergei Lavrov remain as foreign minister.

Valery Gerasimov, the chief of Russia’s general staff, will remain in his position as well.

A Georgian opposition politician who was beaten by a group of hooded thugs has said he was targeted by “Putin’s puppets”.

United National Movement member Dimitri Chikovani was taken to hospital after suffering a concussion, a broken nose, cuts to the face and two black eyes in the attack outside his home.

In an interview with Sky News, Mr Chikovani said the attack was not a surprise and blamed Georgian authorities as they attempt to temper enormous protests in the capital Tbilisi.

“This is their last hope to physically attack people to gain to remain in power,” he said.

“They are Putin’s puppets, the people who make decisions under KGB guidelines, they are Russians. That’s it.”

CCTV of the attack shows Mr Chikovani walking through the car park to his apartment building before five “athletic” men ran and pushed him to the floor.

They repeatedly punched and kicked him in the head and ribs.

Mr Chikovani was not the only government opponent beaten on Wednesday.

Two other activists, one an expert in international relations and another an organiser of Saturday night’s March for Freedom, were also treated in hospital after being attacked.

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Mr Chikovani remains undeterred and plans to attend protests next week against the so-called “Foreign Agents Bill”, which has sparked an outcry across Georgia.

Describing the mood among many Georgians, he said: “It’s a battle for the soul of Georgia. It’s a matter of national identity. Either you are part of Western civilisation, or you are a part of the Russian empire.”

The UK and US have called for the country’s government, led by the Georgian Dream party, to take immediate steps to prevent the intimidation of protesters.

The party’s chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili is an oligarch worth billions, and is suspected by many Georgians of continuing to have close ties to Russia.

Mr Ivanishvili has claimed the bill on “foreign agents” was necessary to assert Georgian sovereignty against Western powers which he said wanted to pull the nation into a confrontation with Russia.

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Mr Chikovani believes the billionaire is a driving force behind the political crackdown which has grown in Georgia over the past few weeks.

“You can expect anything from Ivanishvili,” he said.