Russian paragliders assaulted in Georgia’s Gudauri mountain resort

Police have arrested four residents of Daba Gudauri for the assault of Russian citizens Fedor Chelyshev and Sergey Dementyev, as well as for damaging their property.

Chelyshev has been hospitalized and, according to doctors, has suffered a concussion and a broken nose. Dementyev’s vehicle was damaged in addition to being assaulted.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the fight on 9 June between the Georgian and Russian paragliders was preceded by a confrontation between Georgian and Ukrainian paragliders on 8 June. The Ukrainian paragliders were reportedly aggravated when Georgian paragliders accidentally found themselves in an area which the Ukrainians had rented. Dementiev and Chelyshev were with their Ukrainian partners. A video of the altercation, captured by the dash cam of one of the victim’s vehicles, was released on social media networks.

https://www.facebook.com/www.Reginfo.ge/videos/1793180044053685/

The arrest of the Georgian paragliders caused discontent among the local residents.

According to Reginfo, the Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Lars road was blocked off within an hour of the arrests. Participants in the action accuse Russian and Ukrainian paragliders of causing the provocation.

“Our guys defended their dignity. The Russians exacerbated the conflict prior to the fight – our people answered. There is a video of all this. Fedor Chelyshev, while in flight and despite the warning of Georgian policemen, got to where the Georgians gathered and from above began to spray a substance on them from a canister, to which, naturally, our paragliders reacted. All this was filmed,” said Vako Zakaidze, one of the action participants, in a 10 June interview with Reginfo.

The Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Lars road was opened after local residents received assurances from Dimitry Zurabishvili, the head of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti police department, that all the arrestees will either be released on bail or receive light punishment within 48 hours.