'Russia is weaponizing deportation' — Ukraine evacuates 43 deportees from Russia-Georgia border

Ukraine evacuated 43 citizens being held along the Russia-Georgia border on July 19 that had been recently deported from Russia, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced.

Instead of being brought to the Ukrainian border, 56 Ukrainian deportees were taken to a basement facility in Georgia where they were being held in a transit zone, aid group Volunteers Tbilisi reported.

"Russia is weaponizing the deportation of Ukrainian citizens through Georgia," Sybiha wrote on X. "We propose that Russia transport them directly to the Ukrainian border instead."

Of the reported 56 deportees, most of whom are primarily convicts and lack proper documentation, 43 were evacuated by Ukraine through Moldova. Some of the deportees had been held in the 17-bed facility since late June.

"We are actively working with the Georgian and Moldovan sides to get the rest of our people transited to Ukraine," Sybiha added. "However, there is no guarantee that Russia will not increase the number of deportees even further."

Rights groups claims that upwards of 800 Ukrainian citizens may be deported in the coming weeks, Deutsche Welle reported.

Maria Belkina, the head of Volunteers Tbilisi, told AFP that the deportees were stranded "without basic necessities — food, water, sanitation," adding that "some deportees had medical conditions, including suspected tuberculosis and HIV."

Among the evacuated deportees is Andriy Kolomiyets, who has been recognized as a political prisoner having served a 10-year sentence in a penal colony in occupied Crimea. Having been accused in the attempted murder of two Russian authorities, the charges have been widely recognized as politically motivated for Kolomiyets' involvement with the pro-Western Euromaidan protests.