Arm Ukraine properly to put end to Russia's 'special op' in Georgia

Thousands protest stolen elections in Tbilisi (Image: Getty)

Georgia's controversial election results were the product of a Russian “special operation “ similar to the one attempted in Ukraine in 2004, experts said last light.

And, like in Ukraine, it could lead to revolution on the streets, as tens of thousands of pro-West voters continue to protest in Tbilisi against the victory claimed by the pro-Moscow Georgian Dream party.

It comes as officials clash with independent experts who claim the official results reported by the electoral commission are “statistically impossible”.

Georgia’s pro-European president Salome Zourabichvili, at loggerheads with the governing party, has declared the election results “illegitimate” after the central election commission revealed that a recount of polling stations, involving 14 per cent of the vote, “didn’t lead to a significant change to previously announced official results”.

Georgia’s opposition has accused Georgian Dreams of engaging in widespread election tampering, citing vast discrepancies between the official results stating Georgian dream won 80 per cent of the vote, compared with exit polls carried out by independent pollsters Harris X that showed the ruling party winning only 40 per cent of the vote.

At stake are moves for Georgia to join the EU - a plan stopped in Ukraine by Putin’s invasion of Donbas and Crimea in 2014.

President Of Georgia Salomé Zourabichvili Visits The EU Commission (Image: Getty)

Russia's Vladimir Putin said to be behind the "special operation" (Image: Getty)

President Zourabichvili continues to refuse to recognise the results, plunging the Caucasus country into uncertainty.

“This Russian special operation to steal the election is a déjà-vu which we witnessed in Ukraine already in 2004,” said regional expert Nathalie Vogel of the Institute of World Politics think tank.

“The Kremlin is desperate and knows that the people’s power is unstoppable once it has decided to get rid of Russian puppets like in 2014 with Yanukovich.

“In fact, Russia is witnessing a democratic push back almost everywhere it is attempting to capture power, from Moldova to Ukraine and now Georgia.

“Supporting the democratic forces in Georgia is an absolute necessity and simultaneously reinforcing a resolute military support for Ukraine will be the last nail in the coffin of a collapsing Russian dictatorship.”

Luke Coffey, of the Hudson Institute, said: "Arming Ukraine to ensure it wins will put paid to Russian expansionism. A Russian military defeats will have a seismic effect across society and its national security architecture. The consequences would be enormous.”