Sanctions — 2026-08-02

Georgia Port of Poti Received 145 Ships from Russian-Occupied Ukrainian Territories in First Half of 2025

BLUFPoti's surging role as a transshipment node for occupied-territory cargo forces Brussels into an early credibility test on whether EU candidacy carries enforceable sanctions obligations.

The Georgian port of Poti received 145 ships arriving from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory in the first half of 2025, up from 68 for all of 2024 and 22 in the second half of 2023, according to a study published by the University of Birmingham's SOC ACE programme 12. Researchers Olivia Allison and Joshua Coyle found Turkish ports still handle most of this Black Sea traffic but identified Poti as the fastest-growing destination 1. The study, funded by the British government, tracks roughly $120 billion in annual Black Sea shipping carrying military supplies into Russia and grain, coal, metal, and kaolin clay out of occupied territory, alongside oil sold above the G7 price cap 1. The rise in Poti traffic coincides with the ruling Georgian Dream party's tilt toward Moscow since the disputed October 2024 election; the authors state they cannot yet determine whether the growth reflects deliberate government policy 2.

Analysis
Poti's absorption of a rising share of occupied-territory transshipment traffic, from grain and minerals to price-cap-busting oil, suggests Russia's export network is diversifying away from Turkish ports as Ukrainian drone strikes intensify against Black Sea shipping, though commercial rerouting around those strikes rather than a deliberate Tbilisi decision to open the port may equally explain the shift. Sourcing rests on a single research paper, with Georgian Dream's tilt toward Moscow since the disputed October 2024 election supplying context rather than corroboration. A parallel digital channel, the RubX stablecoin launch, is running alongside this physical one. Continued growth at Poti would extend sanctions-evasion infrastructure into an EU candidate state, complicating Brussels' accession calculus and testing Tbilisi's enforcement posture.

2 sources

Russian War-Related Illicit Trade in the Black Sea: International Networks and Policy Options - SOC ACE (University of Birmingham)
An EU candidates port received 145 ships from occupied Ukraine in six months - Euromaidan Press