AGGRESSION AGAINST GEORGIA AND UKRAINE: CONTEXT AND PARALLELS

Abstract

         Cooperation between the two independent countries of Ukraine and Georgia is an important element of the stability and security of the Black Sea and the wider Baltic-Black Sea-Caspian region, which, according to leading experts in international relations, has great development potential and undeniable geopolitical significance. The Georgian and Ukrainian peoples are united by long-standing and strong ties in various fields. Political, economic, humanitarian and others. One of the main topical areas is cooperation in the transport sector, which contributes to the growth of trade, as well as the development of social communications. Energy projects are also promising, the implementation of which gives new chances for achieving energy independence not only for the two states, but also for other countries in the region, which are now significantly dependent on the Russian monopoly and are interested in obtaining alternative energy sources.        In Ukraine, the works of David Guramishvili, whose ashes are buried in Ukraine, Shota Rustaveli, Ilya Chavchavadze, and other Georgian writers and cultural figures are deeply revered. The fate of the Ukrainian poetess Lesya Ukrainka, the first Ukrainian president Mikhail Grushevsky is connected with Georgia. The great Ukrainian Taras Shevchenko is revered in Sakartvelo. Akaki Tsereteli left warm memories of him and whose monuments are erected in Tbilisi and Batumi. An important contribution to the development of friendly ties has been and is being made by the current bright representatives of the culture of the two countries - Vakhtang Kikabidze, Nino Katamadze, Raul Chilachava, other Georgians and Ukrainians. Georgia and Ukraine are also cooperating in the military sphere - both at the bilateral level and within the framework of international organizations and programs, in particular, in the strategically important NATO program "Partnership for Peace" for both countries, which provides for the reform of the armed forces and coordination of efforts to ensure regional security .Unfortunately, acute issues of ensuring international security remain on the agenda. Sakartvelo and Ukraine are two states that in the 21st century were subjected to an unprovoked attack by neighboring Russia. The reason for the aggression, in our opinion, is the revival of imperial claims, the imperial thinking not only of the Russian political elite, but also of a wide circle of Russians, who, in our opinion, are struck by the bacillus of chauvinism and superiority over other peoples. What the aggressors are doing in the occupied and other territories has already been recognized by many countries as genocide. The world was amazed at what the occupiers were doing in Ukrainian Bucha. Torture and murder of civilians, rape of women and children, mass executions. It was the same in other Ukrainian cities - Irpen, Izyum, Mariupol, Kherson ... But it was the same before - in Abkhazia, where the Russians came with the war in the early 90s. The same crimes, the same murders and destruction. When Ukraine was attacked, the Georgians also came to the rescue. In 2014, the Georgian National Legion was founded, which was made up of volunteers. Then he joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine - and this is the first time that foreigners were officially admitted to the Armed Forces. The founder and commander of the legion is Mamuka Mamulashvili, a participant in the Abkhazian war, now he is the People's Hero of Ukraine. “Ukrainians at one time, in the 90s, helped Georgia a lot in the fight against the occupying forces of Russia during the Abkhaz conflict,” he says. – Ukraine was the only country that openly helped Georgia in its confrontation with Russia. I think that it is the duty of every Georgian to come and help Ukraine now. That is why we are here… For example, now my friend is fighting with me, whom the Ukrainian military rescued in Georgia when he was six years old. We are here because this is the front line where the border of freedom and independence of both Ukraine and Georgia passes. This is another line of military clash of two different ideologies, a war of two worlds. This is not just a war for freedom and independence, it is a war against Russian medieval obscurantism, ignorance and imperial pseudo-greatness.”After the start of full-scale Russian aggression in February 2022, many new volunteers from Georgia joined different military units in defense of Ukraine. Unfortunately, war is never without casualties. Since February 2022, more than 30 brave Georgian soldiers have died in Ukraine [5]. On December 3 near Bakhmut, defending Ukraine, five Georgians gave their lives at once - Avto Rurua, Romeo Kvaratskhelia, Romeo Fichkhaya, Merab Aladashvili, Badri Markeli. Their names, as well as the names of other Georgian heroes who fell for the freedom and independence of our peoples, Ukrainians will always remember! Then there were others. All of them are real heroes. And we, Ukrainians, are grateful to them for their feat.Georgia has provided asylum to many Ukrainians who have received protection and security in the hospitable Georgian land. According to the UN Refugee Agency, from February 24 to November 2022, 182,000 Ukrainians entered Georgia, of which 25,000 remained. In the most difficult period of spring-summer 2022, the Georgian authorities provided free housing for Ukrainian citizens in hotels in big cities, and from August 2022 they introduced a government mechanism for financial support for the most vulnerable categories of Ukrainians, which will be valid until May 2023 with the possibility of extension. Ukrainian refugees are also provided with free medical services and use of public transport. The traditions of centuries-old contacts, commonality in many sectors and areas, as well as civilizational aspirations, create the basis for multilateral fruitful cooperation and interaction between Georgia and Ukraine, the Ukrainian and Georgian peoples. They are the basis for a common vision of the development path of two independent countries. Separate political contradictions cannot and should not affect the achievement of the main strategic goal - the construction and establishment of sovereign and democratic states, fraternal in spirit and close in worldview, in an equal community of free and strong nations. Ukraine and Georgia can achieve the desired result faster only by joining efforts, together. Including in countering encroachments on their national sovereignty and independence.