Georgia’s State Security Service (SUS) announced on Sept. 11 the arrest of two Ukrainian citizens after 2.4 kilograms of Hexogen – a military grade explosive similar to TNT – which was found in a truck that had driven from Turkey to Georgia. The SUS stated that they seized eight mobile phones, a computer device, other electronic storage devices, large sums of cash, foreign mobile operator SIM cards, and cocaine.
Georgia’s State Security Service indicated that they are working to determine if the explosives were intended for a terrorist act in Georgia, if Georgia was used as a transit corridor, or if it was intended for elsewhere. At first look, they seem to have simply made a straight forward counterterrorism case.
“Naturally, the investigation will continue to determine the final destination of the large amount of explosives brought into Georgia – whether a terrorist act was being prepared in Georgia, whether the country was being used as a transit point, or something else,” the SUS said, adding that the legal qualification will be clarified accordingly.
Timing and Moscow’s fingerprints
The timing is significant. Less than a month ago, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), claimed that it disrupted a Ukrainian plan to bomb the Crimean Bridge. Moscow has consistently accused Ukraine of exploiting Georgia as a transit route for explosives, since the Russian truck bombing of the bridge in October 2022. Then, Russia even implicated a Georgian national, Aleksandre Inasaridze, and placed him on the interstate wanted list.
If proven credible, the case highlights vulnerabilities in Georgia’s borders and its use as a logistics route between the Black Sea and Turkey. If exaggerated or manipulated, it risks turning Georgia into another pawn in Russia’s hybrid war – a platform for disinformation aimed at both domestic and international audiences.