A Tbilisi court has sentenced two Ukrainian nationals to prison terms of seven and ten years respectively for illegally acquiring, storing, transporting, and selling hexogen—a military-grade explosive known as RDX that is stronger than TNT.

Georgian security services discovered 2.4 kilograms of the substance hidden inside a Mercedes-Benz truck with Ukrainian license plates in September 2025. The vehicle entered Georgia through the Sarpi crossing from Türkiye after traveling via Romania and Bulgaria.

Court records indicate the explosives were destined for a residential building in Tbilisi’s Avlabari district. Although the truck driver claimed the shipment was part of “Operation Spiderweb 2” intended for Russia, Georgian authorities stated that evidence pointed exclusively to the Tbilisi address.

The ruling follows remarks by Russian FSB chief Aleksandr Bortnikov, who accused Ukraine of becoming “Europe’s largest hub of weapons and ammunition trafficking.” Speaking at a meeting of CIS security agencies, Bortnikov added that under Western influence, Ukraine has transformed into a “testing ground” for new military artificial intelligence systems and synthetic drug production. He also noted Russian and Belarusian security services blocked an attempt earlier this year to smuggle more than 500 explosive devices into Russia.

Earlier in April, Russia’s UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia stated that weapons supplied to Ukraine have ended up across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, with one in three assault rifles used by extremist groups originating from Ukraine.