On October 26, Georgia will hold parliamentary elections that will determine whether the Moscow-friendly Georgian Dream Party will remain in power.
On October 20, tens and thousands of Georgians rallied in Tbilisi’s Freedom Square to support the country’s accession to European Union.
Georgia was granted EU candidate status along with Ukraine in December 2023. However, questions continue to be raised as the ruling Georgian Dream Party continues to rekindle its relations with Russia.
Tensions have been reported to be high at some polling booths in the country. Nino Lomjaria is a lawyer and former Ombudswoman who reported on October 26 that an election monitor was attacked as he filmed a ballot being stuffed.
Georgian media reported that Giorgi Kalandarishvili called the video “disturbing” and that “if confirmed, election administration will not permit such managed or manipulative incident to undermine the many month-long efforts we have put in towards election day.”
Concerns over Georgia’s democracy reached a fever pitch following the passage of the law on foreign agents by the ruling Georgian Dream Party. The law requires that organizations receiving foreign funding be labeled “foreign agent” and mirrors the repressive Russian legislation that was used to crackdown on Kremlin-regime critics.
As part of the larger trend of his party to rapprochement Russia, Bidzina ivanishvili (oligarch) declared on Sept. 14 that Georgia should “apologize for” Russia’s 2008 attack against the country.
Western officials have sanctioned Georgian officials in recent months who they consider to be involved in human rights abuses.
On Oct. 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing Georgians to enter Russia without a visa if they are working or studying there.
The fear of Russian interference was also high during the recent Moldovan elections, where the vote for the EU Referendum won by only 11,000 ballots despite polls that showed clear support for closer European ties.
The Moldovan authorities have revealed that they have evidence that other 130,000 people received bribes to influence the referendum vote from Russian-linked forces. The second round of voting will determine if President Maia Sandu is able to retain her presidency. It will take place on November 3.
The attack resulted in the death of four people, among them a child. Four of the 19 wounded were children, including a girl aged 8 and a boy aged 14. Eight of the injured have been hospitalized.
According to Le Monde, sources cited on October 25, Gazprombank is poised to buy the Russian operations of Auchan, one of Russia’s biggest banks, which is also under U.S. heavy sanctions.
This includes 1,690 casualties that Russian forces have suffered in the last day.
G7 leaders announced that they would begin disbursing funds by the end the year. The loan will help Ukraine meet its economic, defense and reconstruction needs.
During the Cold War, Sergiyev Posad-6 was a center for biological weapons research. The Washington Post reports that a major renovation was started at the site soon after Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, reported that a Russian suicide drone struck a 25-story building in the Solomianskyi District on October 25, killing a girl aged 15 and injuring 5 others.
According to a U.S. government official, the Biden administration believes a contingent of North Korean soldiers is en route to Russia’s Kursk region in order to help Moscow counter a Ukrainian offensive launched in that region in August.
The North Korean foreign ministry stated on October 25 that any decision taken to send troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine would be in accordance with international law. However, it did confirm if such a deployment has occurred.
“If Mr. Trump is so confident of his influence over Putin, would he be able to help free Azovstal’s defenders as well as all Ukrainians who are in Russian captivity immediately?” “Time is of the essence,” Ukrainian boxing world champion Oleksandr Uzyk wrote on X.
“Russia’s losses seem to be quite high.” “This month appears to be the most significant in terms of losses for Russia,” Janek Kesselmann said, the deputy commander at the Estonian Military Intelligence Center.
Ukraine’s military intelligence reported that Russia intends to assign an interpreter for every 30 North Korean soldiers to improve interaction on the battlefield. The report was based on an intercepted communication between service members of an Russian brigade located in Kursk Oblast.
Andrzej Dda, the Polish president, said that he had spoken to Kyiv regarding the possible transfer of South Korean arms but that his response was “unambiguous” to the allies.
Can Ukraine lower the age of mobilization? There’s an issue that many people don’t understand.
“Any outcome must be favorable to Russia, I say it directly, without embarrassment. It must be based upon the realities of the battlefield,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Rheinmetall has transferred to Ukraine, directly or indirectly, about 200 combat vehicles. This includes more than 100 Marder 1A3 models.
“After Kazan (Guterres), he wanted to come to Ukraine but the president didn’t confirm his visit.” Guterres will not be here because of the humiliation that sanity, international law, and international law suffered in Kazan,” AFP reported citing a high-ranking Ukrainian president source who refused to be named.
In an interview with Russian propagandist Olga Skabeyeva the Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t confirm the dispatch of North Korean troops, but said that “once a decision is needed, we will make it.”
Since August 8, Commander-in Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has reported that 6,662 Russian soldiers have been killed. 10,446 have been wounded and 711 have been captured.
Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brkelmans stated on October 25 that Dutch intelligence has confirmed the deployment of at least 1,500 North Korean soldiers to join in the war against Ukraine.
In his statement, Ukraine’s Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets didn’t specify whether the lists had been provided to Qatar by Moscow, or the status of those listed as missing soldiers.
Read More @ kyivindependent.com