The streets of Tbilisi were closed off just a few weeks ago for Independence Day, celebrating the day Georgia formally left the Russian Empire. Thousands of local families lined the roads, cheering as columns of soldiers marched past, waving not just one flag, but three.

As well as the red and white five-cross national banner, hundreds had brought out the gold and blue colours of Ukraine that have been put up everywhere across the capital, hanging from apartment building balconies and shopfronts as a sign of support since the start of the war.