The UK will reduce its support and engagement with Georgia following “shocking scenes of violence”, the foreign secretary has said.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators have clashed with riot police in the eastern European country since 28 November after the governing Georgian Dream party decided to suspend talks on joining the European Union until 2028.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the suspension after the European Parliament rejected the results of Georgia’s October parliamentary elections, which was won by Georgian Dream, but the EU said it was “neither free nor fair” and should be re-run under international supervision.
Announcing the UK is pulling its support, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “The shocking scenes of violence towards protesters and journalists by the Georgian authorities are unacceptable and must stop.
“These actions tarnish Georgia’s international standing and fly in the face of Georgia’s constitutional commitment to a European future.
“In light of ongoing events, the UK will immediately suspend all programme support to the Georgian government, restrict defence cooperation, and limit engagement with representatives of the Georgian Dream government until there is a halt to this move away from European democratic norms and freedoms.
“The UK will continue to stand by the people of Georgia in supporting their right to choose their country’s future.”
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Opposition in Georgia: What is happening?
Georgia has been a candidate for EU membership since December last year, after applying in March 2022. Joining the EU has been enshrined in Georgia’s constitution since 2017.
The opposition and the pro-Western president, Salome Zourabichvili, have accused Georgian Dream of rigging the October election with Russia’s help, and have boycotted parliament sessions.
Demonstrators have been seen waving EU flags while riot police use tear gas and water cannons to try to disperse them.
Image: People wrapped in the European Union flags at a rally. Pic: Reuters
Protesters detained by police have allegedly been physically assaulted, with their arms and legs broken and instructions to target their livers and heads, according to anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International.
Last Wednesday, the Coalition for Change opposition party said police raided its offices and detained its leader, Nika Gvaramia. It shared a video showing several officers dragging him into a car.
Journalists have also been brutally beaten, with Georgian reporter Guram Rogava doing a live broadcast when a riot policeman hit him on the head on Friday.
He was released from hospital with an immobilised neck and bandaged head, and said he was lucky to be able to move his hands and talk.
“It was clear that they were deliberately attacking media representatives,” he told the Associated Press.
Image: A protester brandishes an EU flag during demonstrations in Tbilisi. Pic: Reuters
The prime minister has claimed “foreign trainers” are organising violence during the current demonstrations.
Last Monday he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to joining the EU, saying his party will make “every effort” for full membership by 2030.
Russian missile and drone attacks have killed 14 people in Kyiv overnight, according to Ukrainian officials.
A 62-year-old US citizen who suffered shrapnel wounds is among the dead.
At least 99 others were wounded in strikes that hollowed out a residential building and destroyed dozens of apartments.
Image: Pic: AP
Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble.
Images show a firefighter was among those hurt, with injured residents evacuated from their homes.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “one of the most terrifying attacks on Kyiv” – and said Russian forces had fired 440 drones and 32 missiles as civilians slept in their homes.
“[Putin] wants the war to go on,” he said. “It is troubling when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it.”
Image: Pic: AP
Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said 27 locations across the capital have been hit – including educational institutions and critical infrastructure.
He claimed the attack, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, was one of the largest on the capital since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Drones swarmed over the city, with an air raid alert remaining in force for seven hours.
One person was killed and 17 others injured as a result of separate Russian drone strikes in the port city of Odesa.
Image: Pic: Reuters
It comes as the G7 summit in Canada continues, which Ukraine’s leader is expected to attend.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold talks with Donald Trump – but the president has announced he is unexpectedly returning to Washington because of tensions in the Middle East.
Ukraine’s foreign minister says Moscow’s decision to attack Kyiv during the summit is a signal of disrespect to the US.
Moscow has launched a record number of drones and missiles in recent weeks, and says the attacks are in retaliation for a Ukrainian operation that targeted warplanes in airbases deep within Russian territory.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko says fires broke out in two of the city’s districts as a result of debris from drones shot down by the nation’s air defences.
On X, Ukraine’s foreign ministry wrote: “Russia’s campaign of terror against civilians continues. Its war against Ukraine escalates with increased brutality.
“The only way to stop Russia is tighter pressure – through sanctions, more defence support for Ukraine, and limiting Russia’s ability to keep sowing war.”
Olena Lapyshnak, who lived in one of the destroyed buildings, said: “It’s horrible, it’s scary, in one moment there is no life. I can only curse the Russians, that’s all I can say. They shouldn’t exist in this world.”
An Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London has been cancelled.
No explanation has been given for the cancellation so far, Sky News understands.
However, Indian-English language channel CNN News18 reported that the cancellation of the flight, which arrived from Delhi, was due to “technical issues”.
It comes after a UK-bound Air India flight catastrophically crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad airport in western India on Thursday, killing 229 passengers and 12 crew, with one person surviving the crash.
Among the victims were several British nationals, whose deaths in the crash have now been officially confirmed, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said as he shared his condolences on X.
Yesterday, an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner – the same type as the aircraft involved in last week’s tragedy – had to return to Hong Kong mid-flight after a suspected technical issue.
Air India flight 159, which was cancelled on Tuesday, was also a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
It was due to depart from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1.10pm local time (8.40am UK time). It was set to arrive at London’s Gatwick Airport at 6.25pm UK time.
Air India’s website shows the flight was initially delayed by one hour and 50 minutes before being cancelled.
As a result, passengers have been left stranded at the airport. The next flight from Ahmedabad to London is scheduled for 11.40am local time (7.10am UK time) on Wednesday.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Israeli tank shellfire has killed at least 51 Palestinians in Khan Younis, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
Hundreds of others have been injured, with “dozens of critical cases” arriving at a medical complex.
It is feared that the number of fatalities will rise.
Image: Pic: Reuters
The strikes took place as people waited for United Nations and commercial aid trucks in the southern Gaza city.
Witnesses said that Israeli forces carried out an airstrike on a nearby home before opening fire toward the crowd.
“Emergency, intensive care, and operating rooms are experiencing severe overcrowding,” a statement said.
Officials say medical staff “are operating with limited supplies of life-saving medicines” – with the ministry renewing an “urgent appeal” to increase aid.
Image: Pic: Reuters
Hours earlier, Donald Trump had joined other G7 leaders to call for a “de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza”.
The Israeli military is yet to comment on this incident.
This was the highest reported daily total since Israel and US-backed aid centres opened last month, with thousands of Palestinians moving through Israeli military-controlled areas to reach them.