Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday night that he wanted “a success of democracy” for protesters in Georgia who are opposing a bill that his critics say signals a shift towards authoritarianism in the country.

“There is no Ukrainian who does not wish success to our friend Georgia. A success of democracy. A European success”, emphasized Zelensky. “All free nations in Europe deserve” to be members of the European Union, he argued, as Kiev and Tbilisi aspire to join the EU.

Massive protests, as well as violent incidents, are taking place in Georgia after the Parliament on Tuesday approved the first reading of a bill on “foreign agents”.

The law would require organizations that receive at least 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents” and put them under the watch of the Justice Department or face heavy fines.

Critics of the law compare it to a 2012 Russian law that has been steadily expanded since then and is being used to crack down on civil society and independent media in Russia.