The day Russia invaded one of its neighbors, waged a bloody war and seized a fifth of that neighbor’s territory fear and shock rippled throughout the region.
We are not talking about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, rather the small country of Georgia. That invasion was more than 15 years ago. Vladimir Putin’s playbook hasn’t changed much.
Today, Georgia – which shares a 556-mile border with Russia – is still trying to remove the grip of the Kremlin.
Days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Georgia submitted an application to become part of the European Union with hopes of gaining a Western insurance policy to protect it.
Tonight, you will hear from the president of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili. The daughter of Georgian refugees, raised in Paris, she says that Vladmir Putin has launched a quiet invasion of Georgia in an attempt to extend Russia’s reach.
Sharyn Alfonsi: The war in Ukraine is now moving into its third year. How is the war there impacting life here?
60 Minutes
President Salome Zourabichvili: It is, of course, a reminder of everything that this country has gone through. And of the fact that it’s always an immediate danger and threat. It’s already part of the reality that Russia is testing the ground.
Sharyn Alfonsi: You think the Russians are testing the ground right now in Georgia?
President Salome Zourabichvili: Right now.
Sharyn Alfonsi: How so?
President Salome Zourabichvili: Here their way, their easy way, is the hybrid war.
A hybrid war that has included online and televised disinformation campaigns and anti-Western propaganda pumped into Georgia – a favorite tactic of the Kremlin.
Georgians have seen it before. In 2008, three weeks before Russia launched its first airstrike in Georgia, Moscow hit the country with a series of cyberattacks.
The five-day,…
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