Georgian Parliament Speaker accuses ‘deep state’ of controlling Ukraine’s anti-corruption reforms

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has alleged that foreign influence was undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty by interfering in its anti-corruption institutions, drawing parallels with what he claimed were similar efforts in Georgia.

In a social media post on Wednesday, Papuashvili responded to reports from Ukrainian media about protests against a draft law that would alter the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. He claimed that international reaction to the Ukrainian government's initiative had revealed the “true nature of external pressure” on domestic institutions.

“At first glance, it seems strange that the Ukrainian president, who is entrusted with the defence of Europe with the blood of his own people, is not entrusted with the organisation of his own country’s institutions,” Papuashvili wrote. “But this is only at first glance. The reality is that institutional solutions imposed from outside are, in fact, mechanisms for external governance.”

The Speaker referred to former Georgian officials, including prosecutors and intelligence figures from the era of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, who have held roles in Ukraine in recent years. He alleged that their presence in Ukraine was part of what he called a “special operation” orchestrated from abroad to insert politically motivated figures into sensitive roles.

Papuashvili also referred to the 2023 arrest of Gizo Ugulava, a former Georgian prosecutor who held a senior position at NABU, accusing him of leaking internal information. He claimed that figures such as Ugulava, along with others like [former Georgian officials currently serving in Ukraine] Zurab Adeishvili and Gia Lortkipanidze, represented “agents” of foreign influence and have been protected by what he described as the deep state.

The Speaker suggested that the networks of influence had been used to create and control key state structures via foreign-backed NGOs, and that attempts to challenge them were met with diplomatic pressure and coordinated international resistance.