In Georgia, people worry about ending up like Ukraine as government leans towards Russia
Levan is sitting in his very old car smiling at us through the snow, his eyes twinkling, amused by our discomfort. Not many people come to visit this corner of Georgia, and today the snow is billowing around us.
It is biting cold and there is a large stray dog staring at us with a slight air of menace. Welcome to Brotsleti.
We are just a few kilometres from one of the most significant borders in continental Europe. Along the road is a heavily fortified checkpoint that protects the entrance to South Ossetia, the Georgian region that was annexed by Russia 16 years ago.
Russian tanks rolled through this small village; missiles landed; troops marched in.
Over the course of five days of one-sided conflict, the Russians took control, established borders and claimed that South Ossetia had become a newly independent republic.
Hardly anyone else actually believes that, not least because there are still thousands of Russian troops stationed in South Ossetia, quietly intimidating the Georgians on the other side of the frontier.
Levan has lived here for all his 67 years, and he has the weather-beaten face to go along with a tough life. He calls himself a peasant and tells me his car, a Volga, is 63 years old.
It was left to him by his father and Levan uses it every day. It should be in a museum; instead, here it is, pounding away through the snow and potholes, still in one magnolia piece.
Levan, 67, a Georgian who describes hearing gunshots near the border with a region annexed by Russia
“There used to be 25 villages beyond here,” he says, waving in the direction of the border. “Now they’re gone. The money from those 25 villages used to circulate here.”
He looks around at the meagre cluster of shops around us and shrugs. “You always hear gunshots. They hold military exercises in what used to be Georgian villages. There’s a firing range and they shoot there.
“There has not been an incident where they fired from there to here, but you still have a feeling of fear.”
We drive up to the border and see the crossing point. It is a hefty collection of fortified buildings and camouflage, but no sooner have we approached than we are approached by a guard and told to turn around. A police car then starts following us around. Nerves are fraught in this area.
A Georgian flag flying in the town of Gori
So much has changed in the years since Russia invaded, but now Georgia finds itself back in a state of flux.
For a long time, fearful of more Russian aggression, the country was pushed along by a wave of support for joining the EU and NATO. Polling suggests that most Georgians still want to pursue that.
But now the ruling party has gone cold on the idea.
Georgian Dream was created and then bankrolled by a multi-billionaire called Bidzina Ivanishvili who made his money in Russia and is, by a spectacularly wide margin, the richest man in Georgia. His party has been in charge for the past 12 years and has decided that closer ties with the West are no longer a good idea.
A market stall in Tbilisi, Georgia
Instead, Georgian Dream first introduced a “foreign agents” law that looks remarkably similar to oppressive legislation introduced in Russia. The party then won a general election that was widely criticised as rigged by international observers, European countries and Georgia’s president. It has now postponed all negotiations over joining the EU.
“It’s clear that the current Georgian leadership, the rhetoric that they are using, the choices that they make, is leaning towards Russia,” says Olesya Vartanyan, an expert on security and conflicts in the region.
“It became more obvious with the start of the Ukraine war when Georgia took the decision not to join some of the sanctions that the West imposed on Russia.
“Even more, Georgia did everything possible to distance itself from the West and, in that way, it took the side of Russia. I think that the interests of Russia and Georgian Dream do coincide.”
Protests have become a regular sight outside the Georgian parliament.
Anger, especially among more liberal voters in Tbilisi, has boiled over. We saw many anti-Russian slogans daubed on many walls and spoke to plenty of people who thought that the new government is taking orders from Moscow. Opposition parties have all boycotted the new parliament.
Protests in Georgia
But there are others who think it is a fool’s errand to provoke Russia by flirting with closer ties to the West.
Their logic was inflamed by posters created by Georgian Dream during the election, showing pictures of devastation in Ukraine alongside the suggestion that it could be Georgia next.
“We move towards Europe, and Russia threatens us with bombing; we move towards Russia, and Europe threatens us with ‘we won’t feed you, we won’t help you’,” says Marina Bachia, who runs a market stall in the capital.
“We are just a tiny nation,” Marina adds. “Whoever can help us, they should. But nobody cares.”
World
Charlie Kirk’s widow pays tribute to ‘perfect’ husband and says her cries ‘will echo around the world’
Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, described him as a “perfect” husband and father, and said the “evildoers” who assassinated him have no idea what they have unleashed.
“You have no idea of the fire that you have ignited within this wife, the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry,” she said on Friday in her first public remarks since the assassination.
“If you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea, you have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country and this world, you have no idea.”
Erika Kirk speaks following her husband’s assassination. Pic: Turning Point USA
Mrs Kirk addressed the public after a silent prayer from the studio where her husband recorded his podcast.
She thanked President Donald Trump and vice president JD Vance and his “phenomenal” wife, Usha, for the support, and praised the emergency teams who tried to save her husband’s life.
“Charlie said if he ever ran for office, his top priority would be to revive the American family. That was his priority,” Mrs Kirk said.
“But most of all, Charlie loved his children. And he loved me. With all his heart. And he made sure I knew that every day,” she said.
She called him a “perfect” father and husband, as she held back tears. She also talked about some of his favourite hobbies.
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Vice president JD Vance, his wife Usha, and Erika Kirk exit Air Force Two together. Pic: Reuters
Mrs Kirk said the campus tour that his organisation, Turning Point USA, had started will continue – and urged young people to join her late husband’s political movement.
“I promise I will never let your legacy die,” she said, addressing her husband, vowing to make his movement the “biggest thing this nation has ever seen”.
Mrs Kirk says she doesn’t remember the last time she slept, and shared a story about their daughter when she ran into her arms and asked: “Where’s daddy?”
“What do you tell a three-year-old?”
Mrs Kirk finished her remarks, speaking directly to her husband: “I can’t wait to see you again one day.”
“God bless you all, and may God bless America,” she said as she wrapped up her speech.
World
UK joins NATO operation to bolster Europe’s eastern flank after Russian drone incursions into Poland
NATO is to bolster Europe’s eastern flank, including the use of UK military resources, after Russia’s “reckless and unacceptable” violation of Polish airspace.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announced operation ‘Eastern Sentry’ on Friday, involving the deployment of equipment on the border with Belarus, Russia and Ukraine to deter potential Russian aggression.
Poland shot down Russian drones which flew over the country on Wednesday, something the military alliance has portrayed as an attempt by Moscow to test NATO’s military response.
It underlines long-held concerns about the potential expansion of Russia’s three-year war in Ukraine.
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Michael Clarke: Russia looking to frighten NATO
Russia said its drones went astray because they were jammed, but European leaders believe the incursions were a deliberate provocation by Russia.
“It’s reckless and unacceptable. We can’t have Russian drones entering allied airspace,” Mr Rutte told a news conference.
Mark Rutte described Russian drones entering Polish airspace as ‘reckless’. Pic: Reuters
He added that allies, including the UK, France, Germany and Denmark, have so far committed to the mission with others set to join.
In a statement, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said: “The UK is fully committed to playing our part in NATO’s Eastern Sentry following the reckless and dangerous airspace violations by Russia”. It added that the details of the UK’s contribution would be announced soon.
Yvette Cooper visited Ukraine on Friday, her first visit to the country since becoming foreign secretary after a cabinet shake-up by Sir Keir Starmer.
Ms Cooper described her trip, which included a meeting with the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as a demonstration of solidarity with Ukraine.
“The UK will not stand idly by as Putin continues his barbaric invasion of Ukraine,” Ms Cooper said, noting what she said was the Russian president’s “complete disregard for sovereignty” by sending drones into NATO airspace.
Yvette Cooper met Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Friday. Pic: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
Pic: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
Prince Harry also made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Friday, where he met with wounded service members.
NATO already has substantial forces in eastern Europe, including thousands of troops, but the alliance did not explain how many additional forces would be involved in the new operation.
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Prince Harry’s surprise visit to Ukraine
Speaking at the alliance’s Brussels headquarters, US General Alexus Grynkewich told reporters the additional resources will enable the alliance to “plug gaps in the line” and concentrate forces wherever they’re needed while improving communications across NATO’s entire eastern flank.
NATO detailed a modest number of additional military assets – including two F-16 fighter jets and a frigate from Denmark, three Rafale fighter jets from France and four Eurofighter jets from Germany.
The announcement also coincided with a joint military exercise involving thousands of Russian and Belarusian troops, which began on Friday.
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Meanwhile, new measures were announced by the UK against Russia on Friday.
They included bans on 70 vessels the UK says are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” that transports Russian oil in defiance of sanctions.
Some 30 individuals and companies – including Chinese and Turkey-based firms – were also sanctioned for their part in supplying Russia with electronics, chemicals, explosives and other weapons components.
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Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, dismissed Donald Trump’s suggestion that the drone incursion into Poland may have been “a mistake”.
“We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake,” Mr Tusk wrote on X. “But it wasn’t. And we know it.”
US-led efforts to steer Moscow and Kyiv toward a peace settlement have so far failed to progress.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said talks to end the war were currently on “pause” even though channels of communication remain open.
Thousands of troops are taking part in a joint military exercise between Russia and Belarus, as tensions with the EU run high following a Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace earlier this week.
The Zapad joint military exercise which began on Friday will involve drills in both Russia and Belarus as well as in the Baltic and Barents seas, the Russian defence ministry said.
Belarusian defence officials initially said about 13,000 troops would participate in the drill, but in May, its defence ministry said that would be cut nearly in half.
It comes just two days after Poland, with support from its NATO allies, shot down Russian drones over its airspace.
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Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Friday morning hit back at a suggestion by US President Donald Trump on Thursday that the incursion may have been a “mistake”.
He said in a post on X: “We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know it.”
Russia said its forces had been attacking Ukraine at the time of the incursions and that it had not intended to hit any targets in Poland.
Friday also saw Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper travelling to Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv on the same day the UK announced fresh sanctions against Moscow.
Prince Harry was also in Kyiv for a surprise visit to help with the recovery of military personnel seriously injured in the three-year war with Russia.
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Prince Harry arrives in Kyiv
Ms Cooper, who was appointed foreign secretary last week, posted about her visit on X saying: “The UK’s support for Ukraine is steadfast. I am pleased to be in Kyiv on my first visit as Foreign Secretary.”
The UK’s new sanctions include bans on 70 vessels that Britain says are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” that transports Russian oil in defiance of sanctions already in place.
Yvette Cooper with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Pic: Valentyn Ogirenko/PA
Some 30 individuals and companies – including Chinese and Turkey-based firms – have also been sanctioned for their part in supplying Russia with electronics, chemicals, explosives and other weapons components.
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Meanwhile on the frontline, Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s oil-loading Primorsk port overnight, an SBU official said.
The attack caused fires and suspended oil-loading operations, the official added.
Russian defence systems also intercepted and destroyed 221 Ukrainian drones overnight.
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