Supporters of the former Governor of Odessa, Mikheil Saakasvili, have used force to defy the Ukrainian authorities and get their man over the Polish border into Ukraine.
#Saakashvili has crossed border from Poland to #Ukraine with help of protection by MPs and his supporters— Ivan Katchanovski (@I_Katchanovski) 10 septembre 2017
The Ukrainians had blocked his train from entering over the Polish border, where he was met by some Ukrainian lawmakers,
They joined thousands of his supporters, who had set up a tented camp on the Polish side after he was stopped by Ukrainian border police but they were then swept aside by the crowd.
Among the Ukrainian figures joining him was former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is attempting to make a political comeback.
#Ukraine border guard stop #Saakashvili at Krakoviec checkpoint: Sorry, road is possibly MINED. Roaring laughter from Saakashvili,Tymoshenko pic.twitter.com/oy83lHrDca— Konrad Schuller (@SchullerKonrad) 10 septembre 2017
Saakasvili is currently stateless as both Georgia and Ukraine have stripped him of citizenship. Georgia has demanded his extradition from Ukraine on charges he says are politically motivated.
Saakasvili, who was once President of Georgia, was given the Odessa job by President Petro Poroshenko amid high hopes he would have the clout to get a grip on the vital port city, now Ukraine’s unique maritime window on the world following the loss of Crimea’s ports, and with Mariupol seriously affected by the war in the east.
However he had mixed results and dealt poorly with the wealthy city’s entrenched business factions, and was accused of draining the administrative swamp only to replace it with loyalists. He appeared set on reproducing a similar vertical power structure that had initially served him well in Georgia, but led to accusations of authoritarianism. When criticism against him mounted, he then lashed out at Poroshenko, just as convinced that, with a war to fight, he needs an equally firm grip on everything and can brook no challenges.
Saakashvili eventually began to put together plans for a new political party of his own and become leader of the opposition, provoking Poroshenko to take away his Ukrainian citizenship.
