5 Georgian volunteers give their lives for Ukraine near Bakhmut

5 Georgian volunteers give their lives for Ukraine near Bakhmut

Five soldiers from Georgia who volunteered to defend Ukraine have been killed in action near Bakhmut.

Embassy of Ukraine in Georgia announced it today, December 4, on Facebook.

"Georgian volunteers Avto Rurua, Roland Kvaratskhelia, Romeo Pichkhaya, Merab Aladashvili and Badri Markelia died on December 3 in the fight against Russian invading forces near Bakhmut. Eternal memory and glory to the Heroes!" Ukrainian Embassy in Georgia wrote on its website.

On Saturday, December 3, President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, expressed her condolences to relatives of volunteers:

"In these difficult moments, I offer my condolences to families, friends and relatives of all Georgian soldiers who died in Ukraine," Zurabishvili wrote on Facebook.

According to "European Pravda" publication, the deceased served in 57th division since March 2022, having arrived in Ukraine from Georgia. Journalists quote volunteer Romeo Parulava, who reported the death of his brothers live on air of Georgian opposition TV channel "Mtavari".

"Commander is wounded. Rest of the boys, together with our Ukrainian brothers, are surrounded. The fight is on to bring out those who remained alive and to take out bodies of our dead," Parulava said.

• On November 8, it became known that US citizen Timothy Griffin died during hostilities in Ukraine. He was a volunteer of International Battalion. This is the sixth American to die in Ukraine since Russian full-scale invasion in February.