The Ministry of Internal Affairs would like to provide the public with information regarding individuals arriving from the Russian Federation at the border crossing point “Daryali” who are requesting to cross the Georgian state border with invalid travel documents and claiming to be citizens of Ukraine.
The majority of these individuals have a serious criminal record and are convicted of multiple serious or especially grave crimes, as confirmed by the reports of their release from prison. In addition to the mentioned, they reported that they were serving sentences in penitentiary facilities for committed crimes in eastern Ukraine. Therefore, they were not allowed to enter the country in consideration with the interests of state security.
However, the Georgian side has offered the Ukrainian side several mechanisms on how to safely evacuate and return people in the so-called neutral zone to their homeland. We have proposed options for the return of these individuals to their homeland by both air and sea. The Ukrainian side has so far refrained from returning by sea and has not yet made a specific decision on their evacuation. However, joint consultations are actively in progress to agree on a mechanism for the safe return of these individuals to their homeland, including their air transport. We hope that the Ukrainian side will make a timely decision on the return of its citizens to their homeland.
We would like to remind the public that recently, at the Georgian state border, in particular at the border crossing point “Daryali”, there have been a number of cases where individuals coming from the Russian Federation have requested to cross the Georgian state border with invalid documents and claim to be citizens of Ukraine. Currently, approximately 80 such individuals are at the Georgian state border, most of whom do not meet the criteria for entering the Georgian state border.
The most important task of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is to protect security and public order, to prevent the entry into the country of individuals who may pose a threat to the security and peace of the population.
All state agencies, within their competence, are taking necessary measures to ensure timely return of persons in the so-called neutral zone to their homeland and protect the security of the population of our country.
