In an interview with Formula TV, Mamuka Mamulashvili, commander of the Georgian Legion in Ukraine says recent statements by Georgian Dream leaders on the possibility of Georgian volunteers in Ukraine loosing Georgian citizenship, will not discourage either the legion members, or the flow of volunteers. Mr Mamulashvili also says these statements are part of the Georgian Government’s campaign to discredit the legion.
Mamulashvili says Russia may have communicated its irritation with the effectiveness of the legion – largest foreign formation in the Ukrainian Army – to the Georgian Government and requested to somehow halt the flow of volunteers.
"We are part of the Ukrainian Military Intelligence. We caused quite a lot of damage to Russia and the Russian army. Therefore, the Russians are irritated and, in my opinion, this conversation took place and they asked to somehow stop this wave because they are causing a lot of inconvenience, I mean the Georgian Legion in particular. They [Georgian officials] have received the instruction and are following this instruction. We simply have a pro-Russian government that usually performs their [Russian] tasks. We are also fulfilling the mission assigned to us by Georgia and the Georgian society, we are here representing the Georgian society and Georgia," Mamulashvili said.
Responding to the accusation by members of the ruling party that he represents the Georgian opposition, Mamulashvili said he was never associated with any party.
“My only link with Georgian politics was that my sister was an MP from UNM for around a year,” he said insisting the legion stays out from the domestic Georgian political process.
“But, of course, I have my views,” Mamulashvili said.
"PM Garibashvili was probably offended by the fact that during my speech in the European Parliament I stated that Ivanishvili holds the Georgian people in captivity, manipulates them and does not lead them in the direction that Georgian society demands - unfortunately, Georgia does not have a pro-Western, democratic direction. It is true, today Ivanishvili has taken the Georgian nation as a prisoner, and accordingly, Garibashvili is voicing what his curator tells him and what his curator himself is told," said Mamulashvili.
“What we are fighting for is the exact opposite of what the representatives of the ruling party are fighting against today, and of course, we are contradicting each other," he added.
Mamulashvili also says threats to take away citizenship from the Georgian volunteers in Ukraine “will threaten no-one.”
According to Mamulashvili, every candidate undergoes a comprehensive interview and only those with strong motivation and ideological firmness are recruited.
Candidates motivated mainly by salary are rejected. Naturally, prior military experience is of particular value while no active servicemen from any country are accepted.
If the candidate passes the process, recruits sign contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, specifically with the Military Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense (GUR).
Georgian Dream leaders have recently suggested Georgian volunteers in the Ukrainian Army may lose Georgian citizenship.
Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili has recently accused Mamulashvili of being "directly associated" with UNM and accused “the war party” of recruiting Georgian citizens to fight for financial gain.
დახურვა