Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of December 16-22, 2024

Pollution in Anapa, protests and two presidents in Georgia, drone attacks, persecution of pacifists and activists in Southern Russia, victims of the energy crisis in Abkhazia, and official data on the natives of Southern Russia who perished in Ukraine, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of December 16-22, 2024, prepared by the “Caucasian Knot”.

Pollution in Anapa

On December 15, two tankers sank in the Kerch Strait because of a storm. As a result, oil spilt in the Black Sea. About 50 kilometres of beaches from Anapa to Temryuk are contaminated with fuel oil, and volunteers organized the rescue of birds stained with oil products.

Activists claim that officials are underestimating the consequences of the fuel oil spill in the Krasnodar Territory. More than 5500 rescuers and volunteers are involved in cleaning the coast from fuel oil. President Putin called the incident an environmental disaster.

The captain of the “Volgoneft-212” oil tanker, accused of violating the rules for operating the vessel, which resulted in the death of a crew member, has been taken into custody, the Investigating Department for Crimea and Sevastopol of the Investigating Committee of the Russian federation (ICRF) reported on its Telegram channel.

In the Krasnodar Territory, 3303 tons of contaminated sand and soil had been collected, the Ministry for Emergencies (MfE) reported on its Telegram channel on December 20.

In the “Anapa Peresyp” Nature Park, the thickness of the fuel oil layer washed ashore after the tanker wreck exceeds 10 centimetres in some places. In total, oil product spills have been recorded along 44 kilometres of the coastline near the city of Anapa.

Already eleven dolphins have been found dead after the oil spill, the RIA “Novosti” news agency reports with reference to Tatiana Beley, the director of the “Delfa” Scientific and Ecological Centre. According to the Krasnodar Territory Operational Headquarters’ information, by December 22, the rescue centre’s employees had washed and treated 972 birds. Of them, 890 have already been transferred to rehabilitation centres.

Protests and two presidents in Georgia

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has released a report on the parliamentary elections in Georgia, in which it noted violations during the voting and the use of violence against protesters. Georgian Prime Minister Kobakhidze expressed his satisfaction with the report. According to his version, the report states that the parliamentary elections were free and competitive. The Prime Minister Kobakhidze’s opinion was criticized by Nona Kurdovanidze, the chair of the “Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association” (GYLA) non-governmental organization (NGO). According to her version, “the OSCE/ODIHR observation commission did not say that the parliamentary elections in Georgia were free and fair.” Nona Kurdovanidze has suggested that the OSCE/ODIHR confirmed the violations that affected Georgian residents during the voting and were recorded by local observer missions.

The protest actions in Tbilisi have been going on for 23 days. On December 20, a march of IT specialists took place, the “Tbilisi Life” Telegram channel reported. On the same day, a “neighbours’ march” took place, and its participants walked along the street and sang the anthem carrying the flags of Georgia and the European Union in their hands.

On December 22, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili addressed the protesters. The Georgian President has stated that she remains the president who is loyal to the Constitution of Georgia and that she is not afraid of threats from the country’s prime minister, who promised to arrest her if she does not leave the Orbeliani Palace upon the expiration of her term on December 29, the “Georgia-Online” portal reports.

Salome Zurabishvili has announced the need to call new parliamentary elections, the date of which should be agreed upon before December 29. The Georgian President invited Bidzina Ivanishvili, the honorary chair of the “Georgian Dream” Party, to the Orbeliani Palace to discuss the date of new parliamentary elections.

Drone attacks

According to a report of Yuri Slyusar, the acting Governor of the Rostov Region, on the night of December 22, the Russian air defence forces repelled an air attack on the region. Eight drones were neutralized in the Azov District, and one missile was shot down not far from the city of Millerovo. There were no casualties, Yuri Slyusar reports on his Telegram channel.

According to the information released by the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD), that same night, the Russian air defence forces neutralized one drone over the Krasnodar Territory and three others over the Black Sea. The drones were launched from the direction of Ukraine, the Russian MoD reported on its Telegram channel.

The day earlier, sixteen aircraft-type drones launched from the direction of Ukraine were shot down in Kuban. Another fourteen were destroyed over the Black Sea, the Russian MoD reported on its Telegram channel.

On the night of December 19, the territory of the Rostov Region was attacked by more than thirty drones and three missiles launched from the direction of Ukraine, the acting Governor of the Rostov Region reported. “Unfortunately, one person was injured not far from Rostov as a result of the fall of the drone fragments. The injured person received medical assistance,” Yuri Slyusar wrote.

On the night of December 19, the acting Governor of the Rostov Region reported that the Russian air defence forces destroyed seven drones around midnight, including six drones in Taganrog and another one in Bataysk. An hour and a half later, Yuri Slyusar confirmed the information about a drone attack on the oil refinery in Novoshakhtinsk. Local Telegram channels, referring to eyewitnesses, reported about the sounds of explosions, flashes in the sky, and shooting at drones.

Grozny still faces an anxious atmosphere after the drone attack on December 15. Many residents are leaving the city to be away from military facilities, sources report.

Persecution of pacifists and activists in Southern Russia

On December 17, the Akhtubinsky District Court pronounced a verdict against Vitaly Zhuravlyov, a 43-year-old local resident, who was accused of discrediting the Russian Armed Forces. According to the court’s version, the defendant posted on a social network the images with text discrediting the use of the Russian Armed Forces, as well as negative comments. The Akhtubinsky District Court sentenced Vitaly Zhuravlyov to two years of imprisonment, the Prosecutor's Office of the Astrakhan Region reported on its Telegram channel.

Victims of energy crisis in Abkhazia

The energy crisis has worsened in Abkhazia, with authorities limiting electricity supply to residents to three hours during a day. On December 14, analysts claimed that the energy crisis was provoked by the phenomenon of crypto mining, which had become a problem in Abkhazia due to its widespread use and corruption.

On December 19, MPs Vakhtang Golandziya and Kan Kvarchiya were wounded in a shooting near the parliament building in Sukhumi. Vakhtang Golandziya died on the same day. The suspect, MP Adgur Kharaziya, went into hiding.

Experts named the issue of banning crypto mining in Abkhazia as the reason for the conflict between Kan Kvarchiya and Adgur Kharaziya. So, an analyst noted that Adgur Kharaziya advocated a complete ban on mining, while Kan Kvarchiya, who possesses a mining farm, advocated exceptions to the ban.

Meanwhile, Valery Bganba, the acting Prime Minister of Abkhazia, instructed officers from the “Chernomorenergo” Company to discuss the possibility of increasing the electricity supply from Georgia. In particular, the option of Georgia increasing winter electricity supplies by using the summer flow has been discussed, when the output of the Ingur Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) will allow the above to be done, the “Apsnypress” news agency reported.

Since December 7, the electricity supply for citizens in Abkhazia has been shut off according to a schedule for six hours a day: three times a day for two hours. On December 11, the operation of the Ingur HPP was suspended due to critically low water level.

Official data on natives of Southern Russia perished in Ukraine

By December 22, the authorities and the law enforcement bodies reported about at least 5502 residents of Southern Russia perished in Ukraine, including 2640 residents of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) and 2862 residents of the Southern Federal District (SFD).

In Dagestan, the authorities reported about 1153 local residents perished in Ukraine, in the Volgograd Region – 1043, in the Krasnodar Territory – 619, in the Rostov Region – 601, in the Stavropol Territory – 551, in the Astrakhan Region – 424, in North Ossetia – 332, in Chechnya – 217, in Kabardino-Balkaria – 205, in Kalmykia – 106, in Ingushetia – 98, in Karachay-Cherkessia – 84, and in Adygea – 69.