"Hold in inhuman conditions": deported from the Russian Federation Ukrainians declared a hunger strike in Georgia (photo)
He told the project "Echo of the Caucasus" that the participants of the protest were going to submit an official statement about the start of the hunger strike for Georgian border guards. The statement published by journalists states that Sergei Larko announces an indefinite starvation in protest against the illegal actions of Georgia border guards and violation of his rights.
According to Sergiy, he was deported from Russia on June 21, 2025, and in Georgia he was allegedly removed without legitimate grounds and collected biometric data. The Ukrainian reports that he, together with 97 deported compatriots, is kept "in inhumane conditions" in the basement of the Dariarda checkpoint. "I was denied departure from Georgia, applying for asylum, legal assistance and in the ability to challenge detention," the statement said.
The detainees require that they admit the Ukrainian consul, explain the reasons for the detention and give the opportunity to leave the territory of Georgia or to apply for international protection. In addition, the requirements of the hungry are a medical examination and termination of their illegal detention. The protest, according to its participants, will continue to fulfill all these requirements.
According to the journalists of "Ekh Caucasus", the Russian Federation sends to the Russian-Georgian border of prisoners from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, which have previously been forcibly exported to the Russian colonies. Deported from Russia, Ukrainians were protesting at the border with Georgia on July 21.
The media reported that a group of approximately 90 citizens of Ukraine, including former prisoners from temporarily occupied territories and people with disabilities, HIV and tuberculosis, are held in the basement at the Upper Lars checkpoint.
On July 20, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia stated that the majority of those held were convicted of serious or particularly serious crimes and did not have the necessary documents to cross the border, and that the government proposed several mechanisms of returning these people to Ukraine to Kiev. Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga said the day before that the Kremlin was using the deportation of Ukrainians through Georgia as a pressure tool.
On August 3, the fakes of the Russian propaganda were refuted at the Center for Clearing Misinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine that Ukraine refuses to take away its citizens, including 90 prisoners of war and former prisoners, from the Upper Lars checkpoint.