Mamuka Mamulashvili მამუკა მამულაშვილი Мамука Мамулашвілі | |
|---|---|
 Mamulashvili in 2023 | |
| Birth name | Mamuka Zurabis dze Mamulashvili (მამუკა ზურაბის ძე მამულაშვილი) |
| Nicknames | Heroi (Герой,lit. 'Hero') |
| Born | (1978-04-22)22 April 1978 (age 47) |
| Allegiance |  Georgia (1993) Chechnya (1994–1996) Georgia (2008) Ukraine (2014–present) |
| Branch |  Georgian Land Forces (1993) (2008) Ukrainian Ground Forces (2016–present) |
| Service years | 1993–1996; 2008; 2016–present |
| Rank | Commander |
| Commands | Georgian Legion |
| Conflicts | |
| Awards | |
Mamuka "Ushangi"Mamulashvili (Georgian:მამუკა (უშანგი) მამულაშვილი;Ukrainian:Мамука Мамулашвілі; born 22 April 1978) is aGeorgian military unit leader who currently commands theGeorgian Legion inUkraine.[1]
Mamuka Mamulashvili was born on 22 April 1978 inTbilisi, the capital of the thenGeorgian Soviet Socialist Republic in theSoviet Union.[1] His father, Zurab Mamulashvili, was a military commander during the1992–1993 War in Abkhazia.[2] His sister,Nona Mamulashvili, is a politician and deputy ofParliament of Georgia. He is a member of theUnited National Movement party of former Georgian PresidentMikheil Saakashvili.
Mamulashvili fought for Georgia in theWar in Abkhazia (1992–1993) when he was 14, alongside his father who was a Georgian military officer.[3] Mamulashvili later recalled, "My first war was in the 1990s, in Abkhazia."[1] During the war he was captured byAbkhaz forces and held for three months before being released.[3]
Mamulashvili fought as a foreign volunteer againstRussian forces in theFirst Chechen War (1994–1996).[4]
After the First Chechen War, Mamulashvili traveled toParis to finish his education.[4] He then returned to Georgia and served as a senior military advisor to Georgian PresidentMikheil Saakashvili.[4]
Mamulashvili fought for Georgia in theRusso-Georgian War of 2008.[4]
Mamulashvili moved to Ukraine in 2013 in order to support theEuromaidan.[5]
In 2014, Mamulashvili was one of the founding members of theUkrainian Georgian Legion and is currently leading it against the2022 Russian invasion.[4][6] He took part in theBattle of Hostomel Airport.[7]
Mamulashvili supports ano-fly zone to be placed over Ukraine, which he says is necessary to prevent Russian airstrikes.[7]
There have been allegations of war crimes under his command, as part of the mis-treatment of prisoners of war in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which were seemingly confirmed by Mamuka, only for the commander to deny them later on.[8][9][10] In an interview published by the YouTube channel of the dissident Russian businessmanMikhail Khodorkovsky, he said about the treatment of Russian prisoners: "Sometimes we tie them hands and feet. I speak for the Georgian Legion, we will never take Russian prisoners."[11] Mamulashvili justifiedno quarter for Russian soldiers as a response to theBucha massacre.[12]
On June 13, 2024, Mamulashvili reported that he's been poisoned for the third time.[13]
As of September 2023, eight criminal cases have been initiated against Mamulashvili in Russia. Charges against him include recruiting mercenary fighters, inciting ethnic hatred and other. Mamulashvili alleged that Russia has also placed a bounty on him.[14]
On September 18, 2023, theState Security Service of Georgia (SSG) accused Saakashvili and his followers of plotting with the Ukrainian government andGeorgian volunteers in Ukraine of planning acoup d'état against the Georgian government, via organizing of mass antigovernment protests. Mamulashvili responded saying the development seemed to be orchestrated by the Kremlin, and that the "baseless" accusation demonstrated that theruling party in Georgia was being supported by the Kremlin.[14] Kyiv demanded that Saakashvili be taken to a neutral country's clinic, citing he wasn't safe in Georgian authorities' care.[15]
On 31 January 2025, the prime minister of SlovakiaRobert Fico together withSlovak Information Service accused the Georgian Legion of organising anti-government demonstrations with the goal ofcoup d'état in the country. At the press conference, Fico showed photographs of Mamulashvili with protest-organising group Mier Ukrajine (Peace to Ukraine) activist Lucia Štasselová and online news commentator Martin M. Šimečka, the father of opposition leaderMichal Šimečka.[16] Due to these accusations, Mamulashvili and 9 other people have been banned from entering the territory of Slovakia.[17]
