A Georgia-based company has inked a deal with Russian-installed authorities in occupied eastern Ukraine to export coal, chemicals, and metals, opening what Le Monde described as a new channel for Moscow to skirt international sanctions.
The March 20 agreement was announced by authorities in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, which Russia has occupied since 2014 and claimed to annex in 2022. According to Le Monde, the contract was signed by Andrei Chertkov, head of the Kremlin-backed administration in Donetsk, and a Georgian company, George Oil Ltd.
Chertkov characterized the arrangement as a first concrete step toward full trade relations with Georgia and a way to expand commercial outlets for the occupied region, Le Monde said.
The Georgian businessman behind the deal is Valerian Kochiashvili, head of George Oil Ltd, who told a Georgian media outlet that exports could begin by the end of April, with some coal remaining in Georgia and some re-exported to India and Turkey.
Kochiashvili is a controversial figure with ties to power in Georgia, Le Monde reported. He first came to wider public attention after insulting and physically threatening German Ambassador Peter Fischer and his wife in May 2025. Sandro Kevkhishvili of Transparency International Georgia told the paper that Kochiashvili also owns companies that have won public contracts, which in Georgia suggests privileged government connections, according to Le Monde.
The episode has intensified scrutiny of Georgia’s role in sanctions evasion. While the ruling Georgian Dream party publicly says it opposes the country being used to bypass restrictions on Russia, coal from occupied Donetsk is already entering Georgia labeled as Russian, according to the report.
Georgia is already under pressure from Brussels after reports of Russian crude oil moving through the Kulevi port terminal in a re-export scheme involving four tankers. The European Union considered sanctioning the terminal as part of its 20th sanctions package but ultimately held off, citing what the paper called “positive commitments” from Georgian authorities and the port operator.
Read more at Le Monde