Ukraine's Zelenskyy urges West to sanction Georgia as anti-Russia protests rage

LONDON -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday announced sanctions on 19 members of the Georgian government, who he accused of "surrendering" the country to Russian control.

Zelenskyy's announcement came after seven nights of massive anti-government protests in the small South Caucasus nation, bordered by Russia to the north and Turkey to the southeast. Pro-Western demonstrators accuse the Georgian Dream government of rigging October's parliamentary elections with Russian backing.

The protests began last week after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that Georgia would suspend European Union membership talks. The country's long-held ambition to join the bloc is widely popular among Georgians across the political spectrum and is enshrined in the national constitution.

"These sanctions target the part of the Georgian government that is surrendering Georgia to Putin," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

Among those sanctioned are Kobakhidze and billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili -- the founder and chairman of Georgia Dream, who is widely considered the real power behind the party. Ivanishvili, who is Georgia's richest person, made his fortune in Russia.

"This is how it works in international affairs: if you do not respond in time or fail to respond with principle, then decades are lost, and countries are robbed of their freedom," Zelenskyy wrote.

"We must not lose anyone in this region -- neither Georgia, nor Moldova, nor Ukraine," he added. "We must stand united in defending ourselves against Moscow."

Zelenskyy also urged "Europe, America and everyone in the world to do the same -- to act with principle."

Major protests continued in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Wednesday night despite violent clashes with security forces and mass arrests. Protesters again gathered outside the parliament building on the main Rustaveli Avenue thoroughfare, launching fireworks at the building and at police lines.

Police, meanwhile, continued to use tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators. Security forces wielding clubs sporadically charged protesters to force back crowds and make arrests.

Police also detained opposition leaders away from the protests. The Coalition for Change opposition party said Wednesday that police raided its offices and detained leader Nika Gvaramia. The party published a video showing several officers dragging Gvaramia into a car.

Kobakhidze said of anti-opposition raids, "I wouldn't call this repression; it is more of a preventive measure than repression."

The prime minister accused opposition leaders of "systematically" supplying "pyrotechnics" to protesters. "This is absolutely clear," he said.

Opposition leaders -- among them President Salome Zourabichvili -- have vowed to continue their protests. Zourabichvili said she would not leave office when her term expires later this month. The president said she would not take instruction from the new parliament formed after the disputed October elections, which she said is illegitimate.

The opposition wants the Georgian Dream government to step down. Leaders hope the protest movement can snowball into a general strike.

Zourabichvili on Thursday thanked Zelenskyy for the sanctions. "I could not say it better," the president wrote in a post to X. "Russia is trying to get back the control over the Black Sea."

Georgian opposition leaders have long called on the West to be more assertive in supporting their EU and NATO membership ambitions -- and in curtailing Russian influence in the country. Russia occupies around 20% of Georgia via local separatist client states, a situation cemented by Moscow's victory in the 2008 Russo-Georgian war.

The U.S. State Department this week condemned what it said was "excessive use of force by police against Georgians" and announced it would suspend the U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership due to "anti-democratic actions" by the Georgian Dream government.

"We reiterate our call to the Georgian government to return to its Euro-Atlantic path, transparently investigate all parliamentary election irregularities, and repeal anti-democratic laws that limit freedoms of assembly and expression," spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

The EU's new foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said the bloc stands "with the Georgian people and their choice for a European future."

"We condemn the violence against protesters and regret signals from ruling party not to pursue Georgia's path to EU and democratic backsliding of the country," Kallas wrote in a post to X. "This will have direct consequences from EU side."

Russian officials have denied any active support of Georgian Dream, while also threatening consequences for the country if it continues its Westward geopolitical pivot.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists Monday that Russia "has not interfered and does not intend to interfere" in events, saying the government in Tbilisi was merely taking necessary steps to restore order.

Dmitry Medvedev -- formerly Russia's president and prime minister, now serving as the deputy chair of Russia's Security Council -- wrote on Telegram that Georgia was "moving rapidly along the Ukrainian path, into the dark abyss."

Medvedev -- who has become known for his hawkish foreign policy rhetoric -- framed the protests as an attempted "revolution," which he said would end "very badly."