According to state media reports on Friday, Russia has designated the Georgian National Legion, a group of volunteer fighters supporting Ukraine, as a terrorist organization, as stated by the Federal Security Service.
The FSB, citing evidence, informed that the Southern District Military Court recognized the Georgian National Legion as a terrorist organization, alleging involvement in sabotage, terrorist activities on Russian soil, torture of Russian military personnel, and civilian murders.
Established in 2014 by Mamuka Mamulashvili, a military figure with experience in conflicts such as the War in Abkhazia, the First Chechen War, and the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, the Georgian National Legion is at the center of these allegations.
In February, a Moscow court issued an arrest in absentia for Mamulashvili on charges of recruiting mercenaries and inciting ethnic hatred, with him currently being sought by Russian authorities.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the formation of an international territorial defense legion comprising foreign fighters supporting Kyiv.
Notable among these groups are the Freedom of Russia Legion, the Belarusian Kastus Kalinouski Regiment, and the Georgian National Legion.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed in March to have killed nearly 6,000 foreign volunteers fighting alongside Ukraine since its full-scale invasion over two years ago, with 561 reported to be from Georgia.
Additionally, Russia’s military is known to recruit foreign volunteers from various countries, including those from Africa, Cuba, Nepal, and India, to aid in its ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
