{
  "id": 1940847,
  "title": "More than 20,000 people crossed the Russia-Georgia border in a single day. There’s a massive traffic jam on the Russian side.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/more-than-20-000-people-crossed-the-russia-georgia-border-in-a-single",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-19T13:01:55.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Meduza (English)",
    "slug": "meduza-english",
    "url": "https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/08/19/more-than-20-000-people-crossed-the-russia-georgia-border-in-a-single-day-there-s-a-massive-traffic-jam-on-the-russian-side"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On August 18, over 20,000 individuals traversed the Russia-Georgia border, according to Russia's Federal Customs Service. The customs agency noted that a similar trend had been observed on August 15 and 16, with more than 19,000 people passing through the Verkhny Lars checkpoint daily. The agency emphasized that these figures surpass those seen in similar periods in previous years. Eyewitnesses reported a massive traffic jam on the Russian side, with vehicles only advancing around 100 meters over a span of two hours. Prior to this, on August 13, Georgia and Russia had temporarily closed the land border following a river overflow. Verkhny Lars, the sole land border crossing between the two nations, became Russia's busiest crossing in late September 2022, when thousands of Russians fled after the Kremlin announced a military mobilization. Long lines stretched for kilometers at the checkpoint, with individuals waiting for days.",
  "summary": "More than 20,000 people crossed the Russia–Georgia border in a single day, Russia’s Federal Customs Service reported on the evening of August 18.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}