Russia puts commander of Georgian Legion fighting for Ukraine on wanted list

Georgian legion commander on wanted list

The Russian Interior Ministry has put the commander of the Georgian Legion fighting in Ukraine, Mamuka Mamulashvili, on a wanted list. This was reported by Russian government media with a reference to the Russian Interior Ministry.

Mamulashvili himself reacted by writing on social media, “Surprisingly, they have surpassed the (Georgian) dream.”

The Georgian Legion is a military unit fighting on the side of Ukraine and consists of Georgian volunteers and professional soldiers. The Legion was created after Russia invaded eastern Ukraine. Its commander is Colonel Mamuka Mamulashvili.

In February 2016, the Georgian Legion officially became part of the 25th Motorized Rifle Battalion of Ukraine and is now part of the Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

The Georgian Legion, in the ranks of which, in addition to Georgian volunteers, representatives of other nationalities also fight, has about two thousand soldiers

According to the Russian Interior Ministry, “Mamulashvili, who was prosecuted in absentia in Russia as part of the case of recruitment and participation of mercenaries in hostilities on the side of the Ukrainian armed forces, is wanted under a criminal article.” However, it is not specified under which article.

At this point, the Russian Interior Ministry reported that two criminal cases were opened against Mamuka Mamulashvili in Russia. He is accused of “recruitment of mercenary fighters” and “incitement of hatred towards the army.”

Mamulashvili himself has repeatedly explained that all these statements are lies and their purpose is to discredit the unit fighting on the side of Ukraine.

More than 70 members of the Georgian Legion were charged in absentia in Russia. The Russian Investigative Committee said that Georgian Legion fighters had committed crimes against Russian servicemen. According to representatives of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Mamulashvili publicly declared his intention to torture and kill Russian soldiers.

• “Members of the CANVAS organization conducted training on overthrowing the government in Georgia” – Security Service
• Ukrainian Foreign Ministry denies involvement in alleged planned coup d’état in Georgia
• “Georgian Security Service statement is written in Russian and is related to our activities” – Georgian Legion leader

On the morning of September 18, the Security Service of Georgia issued a statement saying that the country wanted to repeat the scenario of the Ukrainian Euromaidan and forcibly change the government.

The authors of the coup plan were named:

Giorgi Lortkipanidze, deputy head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, who was deputy interior minister under Saakashvili’s government;
Mikhail Baturin, a former security guard of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili;
Mamuka Mamulashvili, commander of the Georgian Legion fighting in Ukraine. During Saakashvili’s presidency, Mamulashvili was a member of his inner circle.
The Georgian SGB claims that Canvas Georgia is being used to prepare anti-government protests in Georgia, with the Serbian organization Otpor at the center of the whole process.

Mamuka Mamulashvili, commenting on the statement of the SGB in a telephone conversation with the Formula TV company, says that it was directly dictated by Russia and is primarily related to the activities of the legion in Ukraine, so “Georgian-Russian authorities” are trying to discredit it.