Sevastopol Resident Denied Entry to Georgia After Claiming Ukrainian City Is ‘Part of Russia’
A resident of the Russia-annexed Ukrainian city of Sevastopol, identified only as Ramil, and his friend Denis have been denied entry to Georgia, the Sevastopol-based pro-Russian outlet ForPost reported on October 13.
ForPost cited Ramil as saying that the two were turned away at Georgia’s Sadakhlo land border crossing with Armenia after presenting their Russian passports and stating that “Sevastopol is part of Russia.” According to him, Georgian border officers pointed to the place of issue in their passports and said, “It says Kherson region – that’s Ukraine.”
The same news agency said the men were issued lifetime entry bans and claimed Georgian authorities “continue to display bias toward certain travelers from Sevastopol and southern regions of Russia.”
Ramil, described by ForPost as a dog breeder, told the agency that border officials said the two “pose a threat to Georgia.” He said he and his friend were traveling from Yerevan to the eastern Georgian town of Telavi for a dog show. “We just laughed and replied that instead of going to Telavi, we’ll go to Sukhumi and Tskhinvali,” he added, referring to cities in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions.
While Georgian border officials have denied entry to dozens of journalists, activists, and human rights defenders – often from Western countries – over their alleged involvement in anti-government protests or work seen as opposing the ruling Georgian Dream party, the latest incident involved individuals who claimed the Russian-occupied city is part of Russia rather than Ukraine.
According to the written notice, the men were denied entry on October 9, with authorities citing “other reasons envisaged under Georgian legislation,” a standard phrasing used in such cases.
In a separate case in late September, pro-Kremlin blogger Patrick Lancaster, a Russian citizen of American descent, was denied entry to Georgia at the Russian-Georgian land border. Media reports said Lancaster, who gained prominence for his coverage of conflicts in Eastern Europe, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, was traveling to Tbilisi to cover protests before continuing to Armenia.
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