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Two Ukrainians jailed in Georgia over explosives smuggling

· 349 words · By Russia Today
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What to know about Two Ukrainians jailed in Georgia over explosives smuggling

Georgia jails Ukrainians in ‘hexogen case’ A Georgian court has jailed two Ukrainian nationals for smuggling military-grade explosives into the country.

Claims checked 12
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center80%
Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Georgia jails Ukrainians in ‘hexogen case’ A Georgian court has jailed two Ukrainian nationals for smuggling military-grade explosives into the country.

Why it matters

The men were sentenced to seven and ten years respectively after being convicted by the Tbilisi City Court of illegally acquiring, storing, transporting, and selling hexogen as well as smuggling the explosive material into Georgia.

Common ground

In September 2025, Georgian security services discovered 2.4 kg of hexogen – known as RDX and described by the authorities as a “high-powered explosive stronger than TNT” – hidden inside a Mercedes-Benz truck with Ukrainian license plates.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.rt.com/news/640601-ukrainians-jailed-georgia/

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 8
help Insufficient Evidence 2
schedule Pending 2
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Claim 1: “Investigators said the explosives were destined for a residential building in Tbilisi’s Avlabari district.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web sources explicitly state that investigators identified a residential building in the Avlabari district of Tbilisi as the destination for the explosives.
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web search NEUTRAL — ... investigation and other operational data currently point to a single final location — a residential house in Tbilisi's Avlabari district. For this reason ...
https://georgiatoday.ge/sss-blames-ukraine-for-bringing-expl…
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web search NEUTRAL — 5 days ago ... According to the investigation, the explosives were intended for residential building in the Avlabari district of TbilisiThe truck driver ...
https://en.1tv.international/tbiliskyj-sud-zasudyv-dvoh-ukra…
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web search NEUTRAL — Since the early 2010s, Georgian politics has been characterized by a contentious rivalry between two main political parties, Georgian Dream and the United ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Georgia_(country)
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Claim 2: “In September 2025, Georgian security services discovered 2.4 kg of hexogen – known as RDX and described by the authorities as a “high-powered explosive stronger than TNT” – hidden inside a Mercedes-Benz truck with Ukrainian license plates.”
CORROBORATED
The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) reported on September 12, 2025, the discovery of hexogen in a Mercedes-Benz truck with Ukrainian license plates. Other news sources corroborate the details of the explosive material.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Demna Gvasalia (Georgian: დემნა გვასალია dem-NAH gvah-SAH-lee-AH; born 25 March 1981), known mononymously as Demna ( dem-NAH) is a Georgian fashion designer. Since 2025, he has been the creative direc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demna_(designer)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Girteka is a Lithuanian transport and logistics company based in the city of Vilnius, operating in Europe and Scandinavia. It was founded in 1996 by Mindaugas Raila who, at the age of 24, bought a sin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girteka
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Marshrutnoye taksi (Russian: Маршрутное такси; Kazakh: Бағдарлы такси, romanized: Bağdarly taksi; Ukrainian: Маршрутне таксі, romanized: Marshrutne taksi, lit. 'Routed taxicab'), commonly known by the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshrutka
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 3: “The men were sentenced to seven and ten years respectively after being convicted by the Tbilisi City Court of illegally acquiring, storing, transporting, and selling hexogen as well as smuggling the explosive material into Georgia.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results from Kantanka TV and Big News Network specifically mention the sentences of seven and ten years and the charges involving the illegal acquisition, storage, transport, and smuggling of hexogen.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024–2026 Georgian protests began on 28 October 2024 after the preliminary official results of the parliamentary election of 26 October were announced. The ruling Georgian Dream party, led by Bidz…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024–2026_Georgian_protests
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Tbilisi ( tə-bil-EE-see, tə-BIL-iss-ee; Georgian: თბილისი, pronounced [ˈtʰbilisi] or ტფილისი, t'pilisi, [tʼpʰilisi]) is the capital and largest city of Georgia, located on the banks of the Kura Rive…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tbilisi
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Tbilisi, Georgia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Tbilisi
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 4: “Russian FSB chief Aleksandr Bortnikov accused Ukraine of turning into “Europe’s largest hub of weapons and ammunition trafficking””
CORROBORATED
Multiple web sources report that FSB chief Aleksandr Bortnikov accused Ukraine of becoming Europe's largest hub for weapons and ammunition trafficking.
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web search NEUTRAL — Alexander Vasilyevich Bortnikov is a Russian intelligence officer who has served as the director of the Federal Security Service since 2008.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Bortnikov
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web search NEUTRAL — He alleged that Ukraine has developed into one of the largest centers for illegal weapons and ammunition smuggling in Europe, and that it is being used as a testing ground for new types of weapons and…
https://ilkha.com/english/politics/russian-intelligence-chie…
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web search NEUTRAL — "Under the close supervision of the West, Ukraine has become a major destabilizing factor in the CIS. The actions of the Kiev regime have transformed the country into Europe's largest hub for the smug…
https://sputnikglobe.com/20260526/ukraine-turned-into-europe…
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Claim 5: “Bortnikov stated... adding that Ukrainian crime groups were involved in synthetic drug production.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to support the claim that Bortnikov mentioned Ukrainian crime groups producing synthetic drugs.
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Claim 6: “Speaking on Tuesday at a meeting of CIS security agencies, Bortnikov said the West had transformed Ukraine into a “testing ground” for new weapons and military artificial intelligence systems.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm Bortnikov's statements at a CIS security agencies meeting regarding the West turning Ukraine into a 'testing ground' for weapons and AI.
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web search NEUTRAL — 6 days ago ... Western countries seek to disrupt integration processes and undermine stability in CIS countries from within, Alexander Bortnikov said.
https://tass.com/politics/2136537
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web search NEUTRAL — 6 days ago ... FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov says Ukraine has become a key CIS destabilization factor and Europe's largest illegal arms and ammunition hub.
https://voennoedelo.com/en/posts/id16272-ukraine-arms-hub-cl…
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web search NEUTRAL — European patrons have established and continue to support a puppet regime in Ukraine, Alexander Bortnikov said.
https://tass.com/politics/2136465
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Claim 7: “According to Bortnikov, Russian and Belarusian security services blocked an attempt earlier this year to smuggle more than 500 explosive devices into Russia.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to support the claim regarding the blocking of 500 explosive devices by Russian and Belarusian services in 2025.
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Claim 8: “the truck driver reportedly claimed the shipment was headed to Russia as part of ‘Operation Spiderweb 2’”
CORROBORATED
The claim regarding the driver's statement about 'Operation Spiderweb 2' is supported by news reports, and the existence of 'Operation Spiderweb' (a drone attack on June 1, 2025) is verified by Wikipedia and other web sources.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of Russian military aircraft currently in service across three branches of the Russian Armed Forces, as well as in the National Guard of Russia. The list further encompasses Russia's ex…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_Russian_militar…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Operation Spiderweb (Ukrainian: Операція «Павутина», romanized: Operátsija "Pavutýna") was a covert drone attack carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) deep inside Russia on 1 June 2025,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Spiderweb
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the existing war between the two countries that began when Ru…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_war_(2022–pres…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 9: “The vehicle had reportedly entered Georgia through the Sarpi crossing from Türkiye, having traveled via Romania and Bulgaria.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including the SSSG and Big News Network, confirm the truck entered via the Sarpi crossing from Türkiye and had traveled through Romania and Bulgaria.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The International Legion for the Defence of Ukraine, or the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, is a military unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces composed of foreign volunteers. It was created on 27 February 20…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Legion_(Ukraine)
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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 12, 2025 · The agency said that on September 10, a Mercedes-Benz truck with Ukrainian license plates entered Georgia through the Sarpi customs checkpoint, ...
https://www.facebook.com/PTNgeorgia/posts/the-state-security…
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web search NEUTRAL — 5 days ago · The vehicle had reportedly entered Georgia through the Sarpi crossing from Türkiye, having traveled via Romania and Bulgaria. "The ...
https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/279076678/georgia-jails-…
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 10: “A Georgian court has jailed two Ukrainian nationals for smuggling military-grade explosives into the country.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources (Kantanka TV, Big News Network) report that a Georgian court jailed two Ukrainians for smuggling military-grade explosives.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Georgian National Legion or Georgian Legion (Ukrainian: Грузинський національний легіон, romanized: Hruzynskyi natsionalnyi lehion; Georgian: ქართული ლეგიონი, romanized: kartuli legioni) is a mili…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_Legion_(Ukraine)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The outbreak of the new escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War and the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a significant development for Georgia. Being in the same region as both Russia and Ukraine, the wa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_and_the_Russo-Ukrainia…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia (GD), also colloquially known as the Kotsebi, is a conservative and populist political party in Georgia, which has ruled the country since 2012. Bidzina Ivanishvili…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_Dream
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 11: “claimed “one in three assault rifles” used by extremist groups came from Ukraine.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 12: “Russia’s UN envoy, Vassily Nebenzia, who told the Security Council in April that weapons supplied to Ukraine were ending up in Africa, Asia, and Latin America”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.