Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili suggests to deprive of citizenship those fighting for Ukraine 

This was reported by Suspilne with reference to Mamuka Mamulashvili.

"We are part of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, part of the Armed Forces and military intelligence. First of all, we are provided with weapons and everything we need from these structures. Volunteers, of course, also help us, as they have for the entire 9 years of Russia's armed aggression," says the commander.

Mamulashvili says that the Georgian Legion has grown significantly since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The unit is recruiting daily and accepts all professional soldiers with combat experience. In addition to Georgians, representatives of more than 30 other nationalities are fighting in the battalion.

"I think this war will not be long, and Ukraine can cope and de-occupy its territories during the summer of 2023. I hope that soon our international partners will give us offensive weapons that will speed up the victory," Mamulashvili emphasizes.

The legion commander says that the current government of Georgia is "collaborative and pro-Russian".

"The Georgian people have the right to send their 'ambassadors' to friendly countries. Ukraine is also a strategic partner of Georgia. Ukraine saved hundreds of thousands of Georgian refugees in the 90s during the Russian aggression. We remember it well," Mamulashvili added.

At the same time, the situation is getting worse for Georgians fighting in Ukraine.

"The Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Garibashvili, said that those who are fighting in Ukraine should be deprived of citizenship. This is a clear directive from the Kremlin to stop the flow of volunteers who come to the Georgian Legion. In my opinion, the Georgian government is now fully cooperating with Moscow, being guided from there and, of course, creating problems for us," the commander emphasized.

Mamulashvili believes that the Georgian authorities do not deprive people of citizenship because of the position of society, because it "would cause mass protests. They did not dare to do this at the legislative level, but such an initiative still exists."

Reference. The Georgian Legion volunteer battalion was established in 2014 after Russia's armed aggression in Donbas. The soldiers mainly perform reconnaissance and sabotage missions in the occupied territory of Ukraine. 

The Legion took part in the battle for Debaltseve and in the battle for Luhansk airport. In February 2016, the Georgian Legion became part of the Ukrainian army. Georgians became the first foreigners to officially join the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

• On February 11,  the Prime Minister of Georgia accused Ukraine of wanting the war to spread to his country.

• On February 24, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said that the government had pushed itself into isolation with its neutral policy toward Ukraine amid Russia's large-scale aggression.

• The People's Power movement, which is part of Georgia's parliamentary majority, is initiating a draft law on registration of foreign agents, in addition to the draft law on transparency of foreign influence, which copies Russia's law on "foreign agents" that has been criticized by Western partners.