Georgian police are investigating a possible disappearance of a Russian citizen near a village adjacent to the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region in central Georgia, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.
The development follows media reports on a “Russian activist” disappearing last month adjacent to the region, with their personal belongings found at their residential address.
The reports also said the individual had resided in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi since September 2021 and was “not going to return to Russia”.
In its comment, the state body said it had taken “all appropriate measures” - including inspecting video surveillance records and interviewing locals and a taxi driver who took the Russian national, identified only through their initials, to the village.
It also said the investigation had established that the Russian citizen left their residential address and took the taxi to the village of Kirbali, adjacent to the occupied region, before getting out of the car and “voluntarily” crossing the administrative line into the occupied territory.