To 15 increased the number of Ukrainians who have declared a hunger strike on the border of Georgia and the Russian Federation

The number of Ukrainians who declared a hunger strike at Russia and Georgia has increased by 15, reports the Radio Liberty project of Echo of the Caucasus. These people have been in the basement of the Georgian border checkpoint for several weeks, and the hunger strike began on August 5.

The participants of the action demand that the consul of Ukraine arrive, they will explain the reasons for the detention and give the opportunity to either leave the territory of Georgia, or apply for international protection. They also need a medical examination and the completion of the maintenance they consider illegal.

In the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, in conversation with the Georgian Service, Radio Svoboda stated that Ukrainians who have declared hunger strike did not have claims to the Georgian side, and their purpose is to return home as soon as possible with the support of the Red Cross and the Embassy of Ukraine.

According to the participants, the protest will continue to fulfill all the requirements.

Russia sends prisoners to the Russian-Georgian border, who were originally convicted in the territories of Ukraine, which were subsequently occupied by the Russian Federation. In most cases, they served their sentences in Russian colonies, where they were forcibly exported.

Georgia’s authorities state that most of these citizens have been convicted of particularly serious crimes, do not have the necessary documents for the crossing of the border, and their admission to the territory of the country is “threatened”.

Georgia is currently the only route through which Ukrainian expired people can return home from the occupied territories or after deportation to Russia. At the same time, without any documents, Ukrainian experts for weeks or months are stuck at the Russian-Georgian border until they receive confirmation from the Embassy of Ukraine that they are its citizens. After that, they can get a white passport in a diploma in the capital of Georgia and return home.

For the first time, the journalists of the Radio Liberty project spoke about this problem. In the documentary “Back me home”, they showed how Ukrainian deported by the invaders overcome the way home. And in July last year, during the presentation of the tape in Kiev, this issue was discussed with human rights activists, representatives of the prosecutor’s office and the then Minister of Justice Denis Martuska.