Ukraine's foreign ministry responds to "Georgian Dream" publicity claims: government allegedly kowtowing to Moscow
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has expressed strong disapproval towards the Georgian Dream party's use of footage from Ukraine's war-torn cities in their election advertising. The party, ahead of municipal elections in 2024 and again in 2025, has employed this tactic to emphasize their message of peace.
The Georgian Dream party aims to portray itself as the guarantor of peace amid regional instability, subtly warning against conflict escalation. However, this approach has been widely condemned, particularly by Ukraine. The Ukrainian government criticized the party for exploiting the trauma of the Ukrainian war dead and civilians for political gain and accused the party of aligning more with Moscow's interests, which undermines Georgia’s Western and pro-Ukraine stance.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry explicitly condemned the ad, viewing it as an inappropriate and harmful politicization of Ukraine’s suffering. Critics also highlight the particular insensitivity given that Russia’s military aggression has directly impacted both Ukraine and Georgia, such as the 2008 Russo-Georgian war and ongoing occupation issues. By using Ukrainian war footage, the Georgian Dream’s campaign not only insults the memory of those killed in Ukraine but also manipulates the war trauma of the Georgian population for electoral advantage.
In response, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised Georgian ruling party political technologists to be honest with their people and display a more accurate picture in their advertising, showing the Russian tricolor on the right and closed doors of the EU and NATO on the left. The ministry continues to criticize the Georgian Dream party for kowtowing to Moscow and disregarding principles of dignity and independence.
The Georgian Dream party's election advertising for local elections continues to use the theme of war in Ukraine. In their ads, bombed-out Ukrainian cities are contrasted with restored facades, parks, and roads in Georgia. The party's mayoral election slogan in the capital is "Choose peace." However, this strategy has provoked outrage in Ukrainian society, with the Ukrainian Ministry stating that the actions of the Georgian Dream party are unfriendly and a cynical exploitation of war images for political gain.
Despite the criticism, the Georgian Dream party has continued to use footage of Ukraine's aftermath from Russia's full-scale aggression in its pre-election advertising. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not approved of this use of images of restored Georgia in contrast with bombed-out Ukraine in their election advertising and has continued to express concern over the Georgian Dream party's exploitation of war images.
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