THE WEST SHOULD EXERT EVERY EFFORT TO MAKE RUSSIA PAY THE HIGHEST PRICE POSSIBLE FOR ITS AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR

RUSSIA'S FULL-SCALE INVASION of Ukraine in February 2022 awakened the worst memories for Georgians.

- AKAKI DVALI

If Russian President Vladimir Putin's plan to take Kyiv within a few days was successful, Georgia, located in the Caucasus region, would have been under tremendous risk of expecting the same. Fortunately, that did not happen, owing to Ukraine's surprising resilience and the radical shift of the West's Russia policy from appeasement to accountability.

Since taking power in 1999, Putin has aspired to strengthen Russia's domination over the former Soviet space because of his maniacal obsession with the belief that the collapse of the Soviet Union was Russia's major defeat. He has been particularly hostile toward Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, who have sought integration into the Western political, economic and security systems.