Georgia’s State Security Service (SSSG) provided new details on two Ukrainian citizens detained on September 11 for allegedly transporting explosives into the country. SSSG claims they were acting under instructions from Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU). The suspects reportedly note that the device’s final destination was intended to be Russia, but the Georgian Security agency says the evidence points to a potential target in central Tbilisi, and refers to the possible link with the October 4 local elections.
SSSG First Deputy Head Lasha Maghradze said the suspects entered Georgia on September 10 in a Mercedes-Benz truck with Ukrainian license plates, after traveling through Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Investigators reportedly discovered 2.4 kilograms of hexogen (RDX), a highly powerful explosive, in the vehicle.
Maghradze quoted one of the detainees as saying that employees of the Ukrainian Security Service “told him to bring this substance into the territory of Georgia and hand it over to a specific person indicated by them.” The SSSG emphasized that, according to the detainee, this instruction came directly from Ukraine’s SBU. The detainee reportedly added that the final destination of the explosive device was “supposed to be the Russian Federation,” and that it was intended for what Maghradze referred to as “Pautina 2.”
Operation “Pautina” was carried out by the SBU after approximately a year and a half of preparation in June. According to reports, the operation involved drones concealed inside mobile wooden houses and trucks, targeting sites deep inside Russia and reportedly destroying or damaging a dozen Russian aircraft.
The SSSG, however, stressed that evidence collected in Georgia points to a different scenario. “Based on the investigation and other operational materials, at this stage the only final location that appears is a residential house in Tbilisi, in the Avlabari area,” Maghradze said. “Precisely for this reason, along with other versions under investigation, active work is underway to determine whether there is any connection between this fact and the October 4 elections, as well as the plans announced by radical groups,” he added.
The reference to “plans” appears vague, but it comes in the context of SSSG detaining United National Movement’s Levan Khabeishvili. He was ostensibly detained on September 11 over his public statements offering USD 200,000 to police officers, including members of the Special Task Department, if they refused to disperse protesters and sided with demonstrators during the planned “peaceful revolution.”
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