Russia should thank Georgia for intercepting Ukrainian explosives, Alexei Chepa, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, told the Daily Storm. He said that the Georgian services did a good job, but it was necessary to check whether the cargo was deliberately missed by the authorities of Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey.
“We must say [words] of gratitude to the Georgian customs service that they noticed this explosive in time. This is absolutely correct, in accordance with the agreements,” the parliamentarian said. “This is a dangerous load that could go off anywhere.” At the same time, those structures that did this absolutely did not think that people could die.”
The deputy also said that Russia needs to pay attention to how the explosives were transported through Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey: “This indicates that they missed it, and we need to look at it – intentionally or unintentionally. I think that our official services need to bring this issue under control and investigate why the authorities in Turkey, [Romania] and Bulgaria allowed this cargo to pass through.”
Chepa connected the incident with the work of the Ukrainian special services and noted that punishment for terrorist attacks on transport infrastructure facilities has been tightened: “Ukrainian special services work, spend money, and thoughtless people, without giving a report, commit [terrorist acts].”
The Georgian State Security Service reported that the cargo with explosives was delivered from Odessa through Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey to Georgia on January 19 through the Sarfi checkpoint in a minivan. The explosives were planned to be transported to Voronezh through the Daryal checkpoint.
Law enforcement officers searched the car and seized two batteries for an electric vehicle. Each battery contained three explosive devices, as well as a large volume of explosives. They were seized and sent for examination, and mock-ups were laid in their place to continue monitoring the transportation. The total weight of the devices is 14 kilograms.
12 people were involved in the importation of devices: seven citizens of Georgia, three of Ukraine and two of Armenia. The delivery was organized by a citizen of Ukraine, a native of Batumi, Andrei Sharashidze, who in 2020 ran for the Rada of the Odessa region from the ruling Servant of the People party.