Mikhail Podolyak on the banners of the Georgian Dream
Advisor to the President of Ukraine, Mikhail Podolyak, reacted to the appearance of propaganda banners commissioned by the ruling party “Georgian Dream,” stating that they “not only offend Ukraine but also Georgia.”
Mikhail Podolyak discussed Russia’s aggression towards neighboring countries in a comment on the “Formula” TV channel.
“Of course, I had a negative reaction because the aggressor is the Russian Federation. Russia can only exist in a state of war, destroying neighboring countries, and no matter how magnificent your infrastructure is, at some point, Russia—out of revenge and hatred—will come in and destroy everything.
This is not the desire of either Ukraine or Georgia; it is solely Russia’s desire. When someone mixes up cause and effect, they put their citizens and their country at risk because Russia is not a country that respects international law and bilateral agreements.
Russia will always find a reason to attack any neighbor because it believes it has the right to do so. The post-Soviet space, where you and we are located, is perceived as its sphere of influence and opportunities, and Russia believes that the choice of president, ministers, deputies, and so on should be coordinated with it.
This is unacceptable, and to summarize everything said above, it offends not only Ukraine but also Georgia,” said Mikhail Podolyak.
On September 26, banners appeared on the streets of Tbilisi, featuring black-and-white photographs of war-destroyed Ukrainian cities on one half, and a “peaceful and beautiful” Georgia on the other.
This electoral innovation from the ruling party is how the “Georgian Dream” attempts to convey its main narrative to voters once again—that the “Georgian Dream” government is so wise and far-sighted that there is peace in Georgia, while Ukrainians did not exhibit the same insight, which is why there is war and destruction there.
For example, one of the photos shows a church in the village of Bohorodychne in Donetsk Oblast, destroyed as a result of bombings, while on the right is a color photograph of the Tbilisi Cathedral. (Interestingly, for this poster, they chose not to use a photo of any old Georgian historical temple, but rather an image of a church built a few years ago by Bidzina Ivanishvili.)
On the same day, the “Georgian Dream” distributed an electoral video with the same content. The footage showed a devastated Ukraine and a “flourishing and beautiful” Georgia.
