The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine strongly condemns the actions of the Russian occupation regime of Tskhinvali to resume the process of installing artificial barriers along the occupation line near the village of Takhtisdziri, Kareli municipality on April 17, 2020.

Such provocative actions ensure the achievement of the far-reaching plans of the Russian Federation to escalate regional tension, deteriorate the security and humanitarian situation on the occupied territory of Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia. The deprivation of the Georgian population on the occupied territory of the right to move freely, to receive proper medical care, to have access to vital agricultural and water resources is an indisputable violation of international law and create additional threats against the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic throughout the world.

We are particularly concerned about the activities of the Russian Federation to continue the militarization of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and Georgia. An example was the transfer of units of the nuclear, biological and chemical troops of the Russian armed forces from the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea to the occupied territory of Abkhazia region by using as a pretext the need for coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine firmly reaffirms its support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders. We also urge the Russian Federation to immediately cease the illegal activities on the installation of artificial barriers on the occupied territory of Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia, to provide full and unhindered access of the international monitoring and human rights organizations to the Georgian occupied territories and finally fulfil all its obligations under the Ceasefire Agreement of August 12, 2008.