{"id":153951,"date":"2023-09-11T17:15:44","date_gmt":"2023-09-11T13:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forbes.ge\/?p=153951"},"modified":"2023-09-12T15:18:07","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T11:18:07","slug":"18-months-of-war-how-did-georgia-help-ukraine-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.forbes.ge\/en\/18-months-of-war-how-did-georgia-help-ukraine-so-far\/","title":{"rendered":"18 Months of War – How Did Georgia Help Ukraine So Far"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 15th anniversary of the August war in Georgia marks 18 months since Russia started the war in Ukraine. From February 24, 2022 until today, the country’s strategic partner has been in need of the support from its friends – during these times, the support extended by Georgia, compared to powerful countries, is modest, but nonetheless the help offered by Georgian organizations and citizens to the Ukrainian people stands out –<\/b> a list of these activities<\/b><\/a> is long and a portion of them is reviewed in this article.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the very first day of the full-scale war, the country\u2019s main avenue, Rustaveli street – where the Georgian Parliament stands – was overflowing with protesters who gathered spontaneously. It is the very place where the President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko was standing as a show of support to Georgia during the war of August 2008.\u00a0 Supporters of Ukraine gathered in other major Georgian cities too: Batumi, Kutaisi, Gori\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

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Source: netgazeti<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On a freezing winter\u2019s day of February 25 Georgian and Ukrainian national flags were still flying. Friendly moral support grew even stronger in the days that followed – an increasing number of people would gather on the main avenue. And of all the protests that were held for this cause, the March 4 protest was particularly significant. On this day, The Presidents of Georgia and Ukraine addressed the citizens.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cToday I\u2019m standing where Georgia should be standing. I\u2019m standing by President Zelensky\u2019s side, by the side of Ukraine. To stand beside our friend who is fighting for freedom, independence, European future – is to show the dignity of our culture, our traditions, our nation. We are with them; we shall remain so and I would like to extend to President Zelensky my support and that of my people. You are the nation who represents Georgia\u2019s dignity today. Let me thank you immensely for it\u201d, – said the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The protests were organized by TV company \u201cFormula\u201d, that even created a charity fund to help the people of Ukraine – the channel was the first to transfer GEL 500 000 for the cause. In the following days the funds increased up to<\/span> 677 000 GEL<\/span><\/a>. An additional<\/span> 700 000<\/span><\/a> GEL was raised through a marathon on Public Broadcaster.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Source: Business Formula<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other media outlets would also show their support. For instance, \u201cMtavari Arkhi\u201d, \u201cTV Pirveli\u201d, \u201cTabula\u201d, On.ge and others painted their logos in the colours of the Ukrainian flag – blue and yellow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a show of solidarity for Ukraine, Georgians launched an idea of \u201cdisplaying the flag\u201d – to demonstrate their support and respect for the nation in the time of war, Georgian citizens started to display Ukrainian flags on balconies.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Source: Radio Liberty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the wake of these events,<\/span> a humanitarian aid centre for Ukrainians<\/span><\/a> was launched near the building of the Parliament where the citizens would bring non-perishable food, jams stored in jars for the winter, pickled food, and fruity beverages. One could also see clothes, hygiene items and toys even. Later the organizers would sort the collected items and send a portion of them to Ukraine, while the remaining half was distributed among the local Ukrainian refugees.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following the outbreak of the war, Tbilisi City Hall opened a special bank account for donations. Moreover, a separate space was allocated within the municipal building to collect the humanitarian items that were later sent to Ukraine. Private enterprises like development company \u201cArchi\u201d and supermarket chain \u201cMagnit\u201d rallied<\/span> to support the initiative<\/span><\/a>\u2026Various universities, including<\/span> Tbilisi State University<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> Medical University<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> Batumi University<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> Sokhumi University<\/span><\/a> and others were also enrolled in the humanitarian initiative.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Source: IPN<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since the start of the war, several million people have fled Ukraine, a large number of them took refuge in European countries, and a small portion chose Georgia as their destination. According to the data of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, on May 9, 2023, there were 24,182 Ukrainians in Georgia. Most of them are from Mariupol and Kharkiv – cities that were particularly affected by the war.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2022:<\/span><\/p>\n