On March 5, during the program Imedi LIVE on the pro-government television channel Imedi, Gia Volski, a member of the ruling party Georgian Dream, spoke about events of the past few years in Georgia. Among other things, he mentioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and claimed that in 2022, during a demonstration in Tbilisi, Zelenskyy called for the overthrow of the Georgian government.
Gia Volski (3:25): “In 2020, this [revolution] failed. In 2021, we signed the Charles Michel agreement and were ready to hand over five committees, but it was rejected because a revolution was planned – let me recall Saakashvili’s return and the various events that followed. In 2022, the war broke out, and Zelenskyy addressed our rally via television and called for the overthrow of the government. They sent planes. Then there was the topic of the candidate status.”
Gia Volski’s claim that in 2022, Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the overthrow of the Georgian government is false. The Ukrainian president addressed demonstrators in Tbilisi twice, but he never called for the overthrow of the Georgian government. He thanked the people of Georgia for supporting Ukraine.
On March 4, 2022, the President of Ukraine addressed five cities worldwide where pro-Ukraine demonstrations had been taking place since the beginning of the war. Among them was Tbilisi. Zelenskyy’s speech at the time focused on Ukraine and the global situation, and he did not discuss Georgian politics. The president stated that Ukrainians were defending their land and all of Europe and emphasized the importance of international support. At the beginning of his speech, Zelenskyy and the demonstrators observed a moment of silence to honor the soldiers who had died defending their homeland.
The next rally where Zelensky addressed demonstrators took place in Tbilisi on June 24, 2022. That same month, several large-scale rallies were held by Georgian citizens supporting the country’s European Union membership. A day before the rally, on June 23, the European Council decided to grant Ukraine and Moldova EU candidate status, while Georgia was given only a membership perspective. In his June 24 speech, Zelensky spoke about the friendship between Georgia and Ukraine and also mentioned Georgians fighting in Ukraine. “I am grateful to the sons of Georgia who are fighting alongside our soldiers against the Russians. Their success is our shared success. Their wounds are our wounds, and our victory will be the victory of each and every one of them,” Zelensky said. The president of Ukraine also reaffirmed support for Georgia’s territorial integrity, stating that “Donbas and Crimea are Ukraine, just as Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region are Georgia.” He concluded his address to the demonstrators in Tbilisi with the words, “Ukraine and Georgia, always together. Glory to Georgia, glory to Ukraine!”
-
What Did Zelensky Say and Write About the Georgian Government After the War Began?
The Ukrainian president has never posted on social media calling for the overthrow or change of the Georgian government. No such statement can be found in Georgian or international media. Additionally, it is worth noting that in 2023-2024, Zelenskyy did not comment on protests in Georgia related to the so-called “foreign agents” law.
On February 26, 2022, President Zelenskyy reacted on platform X to a large pro-Ukraine demonstration held in Tbilisi. He thanked the demonstrators and wrote, “There are times when citizens are not the government, but they are better than the government.”
When Zelenskyy posed about a future security plan on his social media page, he mentioned Georgia. In his view, this plan would also create new opportunities in the South Caucasus and open prospects for Georgia to restore its territorial integrity. In 2022-2023, he also dedicated several posts to his communication with Salome Zourabichvili (1, 2, 3, 4) and repeatedly thanked Georgia’s fifth president for supporting Ukraine. In 2023, Zelenskyy recorded a video address congratulating Georgia on its Independence Day, wishing its citizens a free, peaceful life within a united European family. “Glory to a free Georgia,” he said at the end of his address. At the end of last year, he also thanked the U.S. for sanctioning Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented several times on the large-scale pro-European demonstrations held in Tbilisi in November-December, which followed the decision to suspend EU accession negotiations until 2028. “What is happening in Georgia is not just a challenge for one nation or our region. The current Georgian government is pushing the country into clear dependence on Russia. It’s disgraceful to see the steps they are taking against their own people,” Zelenskyy stated. On December 19, 2024, he addressed the European Council, calling for increased pressure on the Georgian Dream and, in particular, Bidzina Ivanishvili. Speaking about Georgia, Zelenskyy said, “I urge you to put pressure, especially on Ivanishvili and his buddies, to ensure they gain no benefits from stealing Georgia’s European future and wasting decades of progress.”
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Georgian Dream’s propaganda turned against President Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials. Georgia’s then-Prime Minister, Irakli Gharibashvili, frequently spoke about a so-called second front, repeating claims that Ukrainian and Western leaders, along with Georgian opposition figures, wanted to open a second front in Georgia. He referred to this alleged effort as the “plan of Ukrainization.” During the same period, Irakli Kobakhidze proposed holding a referendum on opening a second front in Georgia. This issue remains on the Georgian Dream’s agenda and continues to be a central theme in its propaganda.
To reinforce anti-Ukrainian sentiment, pro-Russian actors linked to the Georgian Dream spread disinformation suggesting that Western leaders were calling for war in Georgia. According to this propaganda narrative, despite external pressure, the Georgian Dream government managed to maintain peace, while, had opposition parties been in power, they would have followed these calls and opened a second front.
Archive link
The article has been written in the framework of Facebook’s fact-checking program. You can read more about the restrictions that Facebook may impose based on this article via this link. You can find information about appealing or editing our assessment via this link.
Read detailed instructions for editing the article.
Read detailed appeal instructions.
