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Ukrainian authorities still seek to open 'second front' in Georgia — candidate for PM

"They wanted a 'second front,' they want something bad to happen in Georgia," Irakli Kobakhidze noted

© State Security Service of Georgia

TBILISI, February 6. /TASS/. A car rigged with explosives traveling from Odessa to Voronezh has been detained in Georgia in the latest example of Ukraine's leadership wanting to open a "second front" of confrontation with Russia in Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, a prime ministerial candidate, believes.

"When certain Ukrainian representatives try to make Russia target Georgia, artificially, it is very disturbing. <...> These people cannot conceal their evil intentions towards our country. They wanted a 'second front,' they want something bad to happen in Georgia," Kobakhidze said.

"This is further proof of what was often said by high-ranking Ukrainian officials who wanted, and probably still want, our country to have a 'second front.' The facts that we observed, that were disclosed by the State Security Service are yet further evidence of this," he added.

The Georgian State Security Service reported on Monday that Georgian law enforcement had intercepted a cargo carrying explosives heading from Odessa to Voronezh through Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. According to security services, the organizers' plan changed and they decided to send a container with three explosive devices to Russia, while the second container, also packed with three explosive devices, was supposed to be left in Tbilisi. However, Georgian law enforcement stopped the cargo bound for Russia as it was about to cross the border.

The agency specified that seven Georgian, three Ukrainian and two Armenian citizens were involved in the explosive import scheme. Andrey Sharashidze, a Ukrainian citizen and a candidate for deputy to the regional council of the Odessa region from the ruling Servant of the People party in 2020, was the brains behind the operation.

The leadership of the ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party, as well as Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili have on a number of occasions accused the Ukrainian authorities and some European politicians of attempting to open a second front in Georgia. In their opinion, certain forces intend to provoke Russia into conducting parallel military operations there.

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