Day: October 17, 2023
Russia has likely launched a coordinated offensive on several fronts in eastern Ukraine, including on the heavily defended town of Avdiivka, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said.
In its daily update on the war in Ukraine, the ministry described the offensive as likely “the most significant offensive operation undertaken by Russia since at least January 2023.”
“Russia’s attack is likely being carried out with multiple armored battalions, which are attempting to envelope the town,” the Ministry of Defence statement read.
It added that Avdiivka has been “on the frontline since 2014.”
“The town is a major obstacle in preventing Russian forces from their wider objective of taking control of Donetsk Oblast.”
The ministry suggested that Ukrainian forces were so far holding back the Russian advance. It added that Russian forces have sustained heavy equipment and personnel losses.
“Slow progress and high casualties have likely triggered a change in messaging from Russia, from an offensive to ‘active defense,’ as successfully clearing Avdiivka looks increasingly unlikely in the short term.”
Russia has significantly intensified its attacks on Avdiivka in recent days.
The vote on the President’s impeachment will be held in the Parliament tomorrow, on October 18, Speaker of Parliament Shalva Papuashvili said at the plenary session today.
According to Papuashvili, he had already communicated with the President’s administration and received Salome Zurabishvili’s confirmation for attendance. The parliamentary procedure is set to start at 12:00 Tbilisi time.
At the plenary session on October 17, Papuashvili submitted a resolution for the Georgian Parliament to discuss and vote on the impeachment of the President.
“In accordance with Article 48, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution of Georgia and Article 179, Clauses 2 and 4 of the Rules of the Parliament of Georgia, the Parliament of Georgia established: 1. The issue of impeachment of the President of Georgia – Salome Zurabishvili by the Parliament of Georgia on the basis of the conclusion (No. 3/1/1797, 16.10.2023) submitted by the court on the violation of the Constitution by the President of Georgia, consider and vote on the mentioned issue in the week of the next plenary sessions of October 17-20 of the fall session of 2023. 2. This resolution shall come into effect immediately after its adoption,” – reads the draft of the resolution, tabled by Speaker Shalva Papuashvili.
On September 12, 80 deputies filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court regarding the impeachment of the President of Georgia. During the three-day hearings, the President was represented by Tamar Chugoshvili, a former MP from the Georgian Dream list, and Maia Kopaleishvili, a former judge of the Constitutional Court. Five MPs from the Georgian Dream party took part in the hearings, including party leader Irakli Kobakhidze, as well as Anri Okhanashvili, Tengiz Sharmanashvili, and Giorgi Kakhiani.
On October 16, the Constitutional Court of Georgia ruled that President Salome Zurabishvili has violated the Constitution. The Court determined that the President breached the country’s Constitution by making working visits to Europe without the Government’s approval.
Also Read:
- 17/10/2023 – PM: Gone Are the Days When the President Thought She was Above the Law and the Constitution
- 16/10/2023 – Presidential Representatives: Constitutional Court Ruling is Political
- 16/10/2023 – President Zurabishvili: the Time for Dreaming “Dreams” Is Over
- 16/10/2023 – Politicians React to Constitutional Court Ruling on President’s Constitutional Breach
- 16/10/2023 – Constitutional Court Rules President’s Foreign Visits Unconstitutional
- 05/10/2023 – Updated: 3 Days of the Constitutional Court Deliberation on President’s Impeachment
On October 17, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that “gone are the days when the President thought she was above the law and the constitution.”
As the head of government told the journalists, “some citizens expected Salome Zurabishvili to introduce the European standard into Georgian politics, which means that everyone respects the law and the Constitution.”
PM Garibashvili said that the Constitutional Court’s decision is certainly the sad fact, “as it is now officially confirmed that Zurabishvili violated the Constitution”. He noted: “As a Georgian Prime Minister and as a citizen of this country, I am, of course, not happy about this fact. I do not want the President of my country to be a violator of the Constitution or of any law”.
In his words, the President should have been an example to the others, to other public officials and to future Presidents that she is a guarantor of the country’s most important law, the Constitution: “Instead, Mrs. Salome blatantly and demonstratively violated the Constitution many times.”
Garibashvili reiterates that “Georgian Dream” does not expect, and has never expected from the outset, that the majority will be able to gather the necessary votes for impeachment. “But we, as the authorities of the country, members of Government, members of Parliament, legislators, must certainly set an example. We must remind the President and everyone that in this country, gone are the days, when President thought she was above the law and the constitution,” – said Garibashvili.
PM also said that “citizens expected that Zurabishvili would introduce the European standards into Georgian politics”, which means that everyone respects the law and the constitution. “We instead got the complete opposite picture when Mrs. Salome told us that she does not recognize the Constitution. This is a shameful fact.”
Garibashvili also said: “We are not afraid of the opposition”. He said: “I am going to remind everyone that Salome Zurabishvili, when she was in the opposition, had a rating of only 1%”,- adding that it was only thanks to the “Georgian Dream,” and its rating that she became a President.
On September 12, 80 deputies filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court regarding the impeachment of the President of Georgia. During the three-day hearings, the President was represented by Tamar Chugoshvili, a former MP from the Georgian Dream list, and Maia Kopaleishvili, a former judge of the Constitutional Court. Five MPs from the Georgian Dream party took part in the hearings, including party leader Irakli Kobakhidze, as well as Anri Okhanashvili, Tengiz Sharmanashvili, and Giorgi Kakhiani.
On October 16, the Constitutional Court of Georgia ruled that President Salome Zurabishvili has violated the Constitution. The Court determined that the President breached the country’s Constitution by making working visits to Europe without the Government’s approval.
Also Read:
- 16/10/2023 – Presidential Representatives: Constitutional Court Ruling is Political
- 16/10/2023 – President Zurabishvili: the Time for Dreaming “Dreams” Is Over
- 16/10/2023 – Politicians React to Constitutional Court Ruling on President’s Constitutional Breach
- 16/10/2023 – Constitutional Court Rules President’s Foreign Visits Unconstitutional
- 05/10/2023 – Updated: 3 Days of the Constitutional Court Deliberation on President’s Impeachment