Kyiv’s moves against the family of Georgia’s informal leader are just the latest exacerbation of what has become a bitter rivalry between strategic partners.
Kakha Kaladze had been the most popular politician in the country. Now he is under attack after a girl was killed as a result of what many suspect is corruption or negligence.
While the decision isn’t likely to have a practical effect on people’s freedom to travel, it does signal a potential shift in Brussels’s approach to Georgia’s breakaway territories.
Men seeking to avoid being sent to Ukraine are flocking out of the country, and Georgia is one of the few options that doesn’t require an exorbitant air ticket.
In South Ossetia, meanwhile, the authorities have remained completely silent on the issue. Most residents in both territories hold Russian citizenship, raising the prospect they could be drafted.
Many have asked whether the crash, which killed eight people, and the fatal paragliding incident that necessitated the rescue flight, were preventable.