According to legion founder Mamuka Mamulashvili, the current Georgian government is fully cooperating with Moscow. However, politicians do not take such a step, being afraid of mass protests.
The commander and founder of the “Georgian Legion” Mamuka Mamulashvili spoke about the initiative of the authorities of his country regarding the deprivation of citizenship of the Georgians who are fighting in Ukraine, and also made a forecast about the timing of the end of this confrontation. He told the Suspilne portal about this.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the composition of the “Georgian Legion” has increased significantly. All professional soldiers with combat experience are accepted there, and in addition to Georgians, representatives of more than thirty other nationalities are fighting Russian aggression in the battalion.
According to the founder of the Georgian Legion, Russia’s war against Ukraine will not last long.
“I think this war is not protracted, and Ukraine can manage and de-occupy its territories during the summer of 2023. I hope that soon our international partners will give us offensive weapons that will accelerate victory,” Mamuka Mamulashvili notes.
In addition, the fighters taking part in the war on the side of Ukraine personify the will of Georgian society, since the founder of the Georgian Legion considers the current government of Georgia to be “collaborator-pro-Russian.” For the fighters from Georgia themselves, the situation is significantly aggravated because of this.
“Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that it is necessary to deprive the citizenship of those fighting in Ukraine. This is a clear directive from the Kremlin to stop the flow of volunteers coming to the Georgian Legion. In my opinion, the Georgian government today is fully cooperating with Moscow, guided from there and, of course, creates problems for us,” emphasizes Mamuka Mamulashvili.
The government has not yet gone to such extreme measures only because they are afraid of mass protests that could lead to a coup d’état, the commander said.
The “Georgian Legion” spoke about the initiative of the Georgian government to deprive citizenship
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Photo: UNIAN
“Georgian Legion”: what is known about them
This volunteer battalion was created back in 2014, when the Russian Federation launched an armed aggression in the Donbas. At first, they mainly carried out reconnaissance and sabotage missions in the occupied territories, and the fighters also took part in the battles for the Lugansk airport.
Starting from February 2016, the “Georgian Legion” officially became part of the Ukrainian army, and it was the Georgians who became the first foreigners who became part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Recall, on August 9, 2022, it was reported that the Georgian Ministry of Defense could transfer information about volunteers in Ukraine to Russia. According to Georgian journalists, the personal files of the former military fell into the hands of militants from the “LNR”. Nona Mamulashvili, a member of the Georgian Parliament, also claims cooperation between the Georgian government and Russian special services, but the Georgian Defense Ministry denies the information.