Ukrainian interpreting has become an everyday need in Georgia since 2022, and its contexts differ from those of other languages: at the notary, in court, at the Public Service Development Agency, at a bank, a school, a clinic, at humanitarian organisations, where a Ukrainian citizen meets a Georgian official, doctor or teacher; meetings of Ukrainian IT companies and businesses; Georgian-Ukrainian conferences, forums and cultural events; media and press conferences. At first sight Ukrainian interpreting is "easy", because many Ukrainians and Georgians speak Russian, but that is precisely the trap: a Ukrainian speaker expects service in Ukrainian, in an official situation it is precisely Ukrainian that is legally correct, and a Russian "intermediate" interpretation loses nuances. This page looks at every format.
Why Ukrainian and not Russian
Ukrainian and Russian are different languages, mutual intelligibility is limited (especially a Russian-speaking listener's understanding of Ukrainian), and since the war most Ukrainians, including those for whom Russian was native, have switched to Ukrainian in everyday and official communication. At the notary, in court or at a state body, interpreting must be in the language the person commands natively or fluently and in which their documents are, and the "a Ukrainian will understand Russian too" approach is legally risky (the language of interpreting is recorded in the notarial act) and ethically incorrect. Our Ukrainian interpreters command Ukrainian at native or professional level and work directly in the Ukrainian-Georgian pair. If the client themselves asks for Russian interpreting (for example a Russian-speaking Ukrainian who prefers it), that is their choice, which we respect, but the default language is Ukrainian.
At the notary: the most frequent situation
A Ukrainian citizen who buys or rents an apartment in Georgia, founds a company, executes a power of attorney, marries or gives consent to a child's travel needs an interpreter at the Georgian notary, because the notary is obliged to make sure that the party understands the content of the document. The interpreter is recorded in the notarial act by name, signs it and takes responsibility for the accuracy of the interpretation, so this work can be done only by an interpreter registered with a notary. Since 2022 this has been the most frequent situation in Ukrainian interpreting, and our interpreters render Georgian notarial terminology (sale, power of attorney, consent, ownership, mortgage) instantly with the Ukrainian equivalents ("купівля-продаж", "довіреність", "згода", "право власності", "іпотека"), and know in advance the notary's standard explanations that they read at every act, which speeds up the procedure.
State bodies, banks, schools
At a residence application at the Public Service Development Agency, at company registration at the Public Registry, at tax registration at the Revenue Service, when opening an account at a bank or enrolling a child at school, communication between a Ukrainian applicant and a Georgian employee often needs an interpreter, especially when the procedure is non-standard or there is a defect in the documents. In such a situation the interpreter must know not only the language but also the logic of Georgian administrative procedures: what "small business status" is, how the "residence card" works, what the bank's compliance requires, how the Georgian school system is organised. At parents' meetings, meetings with the school administration and discussions of a child's educational needs, the interpreter is the bridge between a Ukrainian parent and a Georgian teacher, where pedagogical terminology and cultural context matter equally.
Court and investigative actions
At court proceedings in which a Ukrainian party, witness or victim takes part (civil disputes, family cases, administrative offences, criminal cases), the consecutive format is used and the interpreter maintains full impartiality: renders what was said exactly, without explanation or softening, asks for repetition in case of misunderstanding and adds no assumption of their own. A court interpreter commands procedural terminology in both languages ("позивач"/claimant, "відповідач"/defendant, "свідок"/witness, "клопотання"/motion, "ухвала"/ruling) and observes court etiquette. At investigative actions (interrogation, giving testimony, identification) the interpreter is recorded in the record and signs it. War-related cases (family conflicts against a background of stress, property disputes, forgery of documents) require particular delicacy.
Medical accompaniment for Ukrainian patients
The treatment of Ukrainian patients in Georgian clinics (oncology, cardiology, paediatrics, mental health, rehabilitation of war injuries) needs an interpreter who commands medical terminology in both languages and at the same time maintains delicacy. In medical interpreting the interpreter interprets in the first person ("I have pain" and not "she says she has pain"), adds nothing and omits nothing, even if what the patient says seems insignificant to the doctor. Ukrainian and Georgian medical terminology rests on a shared Latin-Russian foundation, which makes interpreting easier, but the patient's everyday language, in which they describe symptoms, requires the interpreter to know living Ukrainian. At mental health and trauma consultations the interpreter observes the specifics of psychological interpreting: tone, pauses and emotional register are conveyed just as the words are. Confidentiality is protected by a signed agreement.
Humanitarian organisations: interviews, training, field visits
International organisations, foundations and local NGOs regularly need an interpreter when working with Ukrainian beneficiaries: needs assessment interviews, psychosocial support groups, legal consultations, vocational training, field visits to accommodation centres, donor visits and monitoring. In this field the interpreter commands humanitarian terminology (beneficiary, case management, referral, protection, cash assistance) in both languages, observes the ethical protocol at interviews with beneficiaries ("do no harm", confidentiality, informed consent) and works delicately with sensitive topics (trauma, loss, violence). At training sessions interpreting is consecutive or simultaneous with a portable system, and at group sessions the interpreter maintains the dynamic between the facilitator and the participants.
Business, IT and negotiations
Ukrainian IT companies, startups and businesses working in Georgia need an interpreter at meetings with Georgian partners, banks, auditors and tax consultants, especially when the subject is Georgian tax and corporate law. In the IT field the English terminology is common to both languages, but comparing Georgian tax regimes ("small business status", "virtual zone", "international company status") with their Ukrainian analogues ("єдиний податок", "Дія.City") requires the interpreter to know both systems. Georgian-Ukrainian business forums, chamber of commerce meetings and presentations of reconstruction projects use simultaneous interpreting at plenary sessions and consecutive at B2B meetings. Before a negotiation we ask for the presentation and the draft contract so that the interpreter can build a terminology base.
Conferences, forums and simultaneous interpreting
Georgian-Ukrainian conferences, inter-parliamentary meetings, academic forums, journalists' seminars and civil society dialogues use simultaneous interpreting, where the interpreter interprets in parallel from a booth into headsets. Ukrainian and Georgian syntax differ, but both are "convenient" for simultaneous interpreting: the verb does not stand at the end of the sentence, the meaning emerges early, and the interpreter lags the speaker by 1-2 seconds. Despite this technical simplicity, simultaneous interpreting requires two interpreters alternating every 20-30 minutes, and on political and legal subjects terminological accuracy is decisive. Before the conference the interpreters study the speakers' presentations, and terminology related to the war, European integration and reforms (relevant in both countries) is agreed in advance.
Media, press conferences and cultural events
Press conferences and interviews of Ukrainian politicians, diplomats, journalists and cultural figures are regular in Georgia, and media interpreting is public: the interpretation is quoted directly, so the interpreter renders figures, names and politically sensitive formulations with particular care. Georgian-Ukrainian cultural relations (literary evenings, theatre tours, film screenings, exhibitions, Ukrainian community events in Tbilisi and Batumi) require the interpreter to command literary text, the curator's commentary and audience questions at the same time. Ukrainian literature and theatre are a subject of growing interest for the Georgian audience, and an interpreter who also knows the literary context makes the event "their own" for both sides.
Remote and telephone interpreting
Ukraine is one hour (in summer) or two hours (in winter) behind Tbilisi, which hardly complicates the planning of remote meetings, and meetings on Zoom, Teams or Google Meet with relatives, lawyers, notaries, universities and partners in Ukraine are everyday practice. We deliver remote interpreting simultaneously through built-in channels or consecutively in a shared call, with a technical test before the meeting. Telephone interpreting is for urgent cases: a Ukrainian patient's urgent visit to a clinic, a call to a Ukrainian body, an unexpected question from a bank or the agency. The interpreter joins the call as a third party within minutes during working hours, and in telephone communication with Ukrainian bodies (the ДМС, the Pension Fund, the tax service, a university) also helps the Georgian client understand Ukrainian bureaucratic terminology.
Focus group, parents' meeting, working group: interpreting in a group
In the Ukrainian direction whispered and portable-system interpreting is most often needed not in corporate but in community and humanitarian situations: a psychosocial support group with one Georgian facilitator and ten Ukrainian participants; a Georgian school's parents' meeting with two or three Ukrainian parents; a humanitarian organisation's focus group with beneficiaries; a state body's information meeting for the Ukrainian community. For one or two Ukrainian-speaking participants the interpreter sits next to them and interprets simultaneously in a whisper, and for a group we use a portable transmitter, which delivers the interpretation to the participants by earpiece and lets the facilitator maintain the group dynamic, which is decisive in a psychosocial session: a participant must not feel that they are sitting "apart" because of the interpreting. At a session longer than two hours two interpreters alternate, and on sensitive topics (trauma, loss) the interpreter agrees with the facilitator in advance how to convey the emotional register. For a conference a standard booth and transmitter system is set up.
The interpreter's ethics in the context of war
The professional ethics of interpreting (accuracy, confidentiality, impartiality) gain an additional dimension in the Ukrainian context: the interpreter often works with people who are traumatised, under stress or caught in a difficult legal situation, and their task is accurate, calm and respectful communication, not expressing sympathy or giving advice. The interpreter is neither side's adviser, adds nothing on their own initiative, explains cultural or procedural context openly, in the presence of both sides, and on politically sensitive topics (war, occupation, military service) uses neutral, exact terminology. Every interpreter works under a confidentiality agreement, which is especially important for the protection of personal data in wartime.
Academic events and universities
Cooperation between Georgian and Ukrainian universities, lectures by Ukrainian professors in Tbilisi, joint research projects and student exchanges need academic interpreting, where the interpreter renders complex, theoretical text, quotations and authors' names exactly. Ukrainian academic terminology rests on a Soviet and European (Bologna) foundation shared with Georgian, which makes interpreting easier, while Ukraine's post-war higher education reforms (new qualifications, online study, relocated universities) create new concepts. The school with a Ukrainian sector operating in Tbilisi, Ukrainian community centres and the Ukrainian studies programmes of Georgian universities hold regular events, where the interpreter commands the academic and the community context at the same time. Before a lecture we ask for the presentation and the bibliography, and at the question-and-answer session we provide two-way interpreting.
Church, diaspora and community events
The Ukrainian community in Georgia leads its own community life: religious services, celebration of national holidays, charity events, cultural programmes for children, meetings of diaspora organisations with Georgian bodies and local self-government. At such events, where Georgian and Ukrainian participants are together, the interpreter ensures two-way communication, and the tone differs from the official one: warmer, communal, emotional, where symbolism, historical context and the history of the relationship between the two peoples matter. Georgian-Ukrainian cultural and historical ties (Lesya Ukrainka in Georgia, Georgian figures in Ukraine, the relationship between the two churches) require the interpreter to know this context so that the community event is "their own" for both sides.
Two paths to Ukrainian-Georgian interpreting
Before 2022 a Ukrainian-Georgian interpreter in Georgia was a rarity; today our team consists of two different biographies. The first are Georgians who studied at the universities of Kyiv, Kharkiv or Lviv (many Georgians received medical and technical education in Ukraine) or worked in Ukrainian companies and command Ukrainian not as a "language similar to Russian" but as their own working language. The second path are Ukrainians who stayed in Georgia after 2022, mastered Georgian to professional level in two or three years and now help their own community in dealing with the Georgian system; their advantage is understanding the situation of a Ukrainian beneficiary, patient or parent "from the inside". From both groups, an interpreter working at the notary is registered with a notary, those working in the humanitarian field have been trained in ethical protocols, and medical interpreters in terminology. Every interpreter clearly distinguishes Ukrainian from Russian and works in Ukrainian by default, and the confidentiality agreement, in wartime, is explained separately before signing.
One hour at the notary, one month with an organisation
In the Ukrainian direction the typical interpreting order is short: one hour at the notary, one visit to the agency, one consultation at a clinic. So, unlike other languages, a one-hour minimum booking is the basic unit here. At the other pole stand humanitarian organisations, clinics and banks that need a Ukrainian-speaking interpreter daily or weekly, and for them a monthly or quarterly contract applies with a fixed package of hours, which guarantees the interpreter's availability. A simultaneous conference requires two interpreters and a booth, whispered interpreting one or two interpreters. In Batumi and Kutaisi we work with local interpreters.
Which format for which case
- Visit to the notary: consecutive, interpreter registered with a notary, from one hour
- Court proceedings, investigative action: consecutive, court interpreter
- Agency, Public Registry, bank, school: consecutive, interpreter familiar with administrative procedures
- Medical consultation, psychological support: consecutive, medical interpreter, on site or online
- Humanitarian interview, training, field visit: consecutive or with a portable system, humanitarian sector interpreter
- Business negotiation, tax consultation: consecutive, business interpreter
- Conference, forum, inter-parliamentary meeting: simultaneous from a booth, two interpreters
- Press conference, cultural event: consecutive or simultaneous, media and culture interpreter
- Urgent call: telephone interpreting during working hours
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a Russian-speaking interpreter at the notary if the Ukrainian speaks Russian?
Legally, the language of interpreting is recorded in the notarial act and must correspond to the person's linguistic competence. We work in Ukrainian by default; if the person themselves asks for Russian, that is their choice.
How far in advance should I book an interpreter for the notary?
Usually one or two days in advance, and in urgent cases we try to organise it the same day too. For a conference at least one week in advance.
Is the interpreter recorded in the notarial act?
Yes. When interpreting at the notary the interpreter is entered in the act by name and signs it, so this work can be done only by an interpreter registered with a notary.
Do you work with humanitarian organisations on a long-term basis?
Yes, with the same team of interpreters, who know the organisation's beneficiaries, terminology and ethical protocol.
We need an interpreter in Batumi or another city. Is that possible?
Yes, we have local interpreters in Batumi and Kutaisi, and in other cities we work with travel or in remote format.
Can you translate a Ukrainian video recording and prepare subtitles?
Yes, transcription of the recording, translation and preparation of subtitles is a separate service that works on written translation deadlines.
Is the content of interviews with beneficiaries confidential?
Yes, every interpreter works under a confidentiality agreement and observes the ethical protocol of the humanitarian field, and shares the details of an interview with no one.