On August 4, Irakli Kobakhidze, the Prime Minister of Georgia, argued in a social media post that if a radical anti-Russian position were genuinely motivated by patriotism, it should have emerged after the 2008 Russia-Georgia war rather than following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He questioned why certain political opponents became "Russophobes" only after 2022, asking: "They do not even formally recognize Georgia as their homeland, is Ukraine their homeland?"

Kobakhidze stated that Russia continues to occupy 20 percent of Georgia’s territory as a result of what he described as the mistakes of the former United National Movement (UNM) government. He emphasized that the consequences of the August 2008 war remain severe, noting that 412 people were killed, 2,232 were injured, around 30,000 people were displaced, and more than 120 Georgian settlements ended up beyond the occupation line. According to him, these figures represent not only statistics but also lost lives, destroyed communities, and damaged national interests.

Kobakhidze argued that despite these consequences, the UNM government and its supporters did not adopt a radically anti-Russian stance after the war. Instead, he stated that shortly after the conflict, the former authorities welcomed Russian citizens to Georgia for tourism and business, promoted cultural and humanitarian cooperation with Russia, encouraged Russian investment in various sectors of the economy, including strategic industries, and later unilaterally abolished visa requirements for Russian citizens. He stressed that neither UNM representatives nor their supporters protested these policies at the time.

Referring to opposition figures, Kobakhidze stated that politicians and public figures such as Elene Khoshtaria, Zurab Japaridze, Misha Mshvildadze and others had previously supported the growth of tourism, trade and economic ties with Russia. He emphasized that these policies continued even after Russia recognized the independence of the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and diplomatic relations between the two countries had been severed.

Kobakhidze further claimed that these political forces, together with affiliated NGOs and activists, operate as an externally controlled network serving foreign interests rather than Georgia's national interests. He argued that they showed no comparable anti-Russian rhetoric between 2008 and 2012 and only adopted a strongly anti-Russian position after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

According to Kobakhidze, this shift was driven by what he called the "global war party," which, he claimed, sought to expand the conflict by encouraging anti-Russian sentiment throughout Europe and among its partners, including in Georgia. He argued that the rhetoric of what he described as "foreign agents" toward Russia had never been as hostile either before or immediately after the 2008 war, despite the deaths of Georgian soldiers and civilians, the torture and killing of Giorgi Antsukhelidze, the displacement of thousands of people, and Russia's recognition of the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Kobakhidze maintained that these groups declared Russia "an implacable enemy" only after the invasion of Ukraine. He acknowledged that such a reaction would be understandable from Ukrainian citizens but questioned why, in his view, Georgian opposition figures appeared to be more concerned about Ukraine than Georgia itself. He argued that "Russia became the real occupier of Georgia not after the occupation of the territories of Georgia, but of Ukraine," describing this position as contradictory and politically motivated.

He also claimed that the sincerity of their anti-Russian position is undermined by what he described as their silence regarding "the millions of Russian rubles transferred from the Russian state treasury to Elene Khoshtaria." Kobakhidze stated that this issue "does not require additional explanation for the majority of the Georgian population."

Concluding his remarks, Kobakhidze stated that the majority of Georgians are sincere patriots whose priority is preserving peace, state sovereignty and national values. He argued that opposition groups continue to follow the interests of what he called the "deep state" rather than Georgia. He questioned why, if they were acting independently, they had not adopted the same anti-Russian position immediately after the August 2008 war, when Georgia itself was the victim of Russian military action, instead of only doing so after the war in Ukraine. "I think society will easily find a logical explanation for this illogicality," Kobakhidze stated.