The suspects, who were detained in Georgia, could have been planning to smuggle the materials into Russia or derail local elections, officials have claimed
Georgia has arrested two Ukrainians carrying high-grade explosives, allegedly supplied by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), local officials have said. They are investigating whether the explosives were destined for sabotage operations in Russia or to disrupt Georgia’s upcoming local elections set for early October.
In a statement on Thursday, Georgia’s State Security Service (SSG) said that a vehicle with Ukrainian plates entered via a checkpoint on the Turkish border, after travelling through Romania and Bulgaria. Hidden in secret compartments were 2.4 kg of hexogen, which SSG called significantly more powerful than TNT.
According to the SSG, one of the detainees testified that SBU officers in Ukraine handed the explosives to the driver, instructing him to deliver them after crossing into Georgia to another person.
SSG Deputy Head Lasha Magradze stated that one of the detainees claimed that the material was meant for use against Russia in a bid to repeat the so-called operation Spiderweb – a Ukrainian drone attack in June that targeted Russia’s strategic aviation. Moscow confirmed several aircraft were damaged by the dozens of drones sent but rejected Kiev’s claims that around 40 warplanes were destroyed.
However, Magradze also pointed out that some evidence supports the version that the suspects could have been seeking to disrupt the local government elections set for October 4. Kaha Kaladze, the mayor of Tbilisi and a senior figure in the ruling Georgian Dream party, echoed the concerns, saying the material could have been intended for opposition factions aiming to stir chaos in the ex-Soviet state.
In addition, Georgia is located relatively close to TurkStream and BlueStream pipelines in the Black Sea, which carry Russian gas to Türkiye. Moscow has in the past accused Ukraine of attempting to sabotage TurkStream.
Russian counterintelligence services have on multiple occasions reported arresting Ukrainian agents accused of planning infrastructure attacks. Moscow has frequently labelled such activities as “terrorism.”
