Mamuka Mamulashvili

Mamuka "Ushangi" Mamulashvili (Georgian: მამუკა (უშანგი) მამულაშვილი; Ukrainian: Мамука Мамулашвілі; born 22 April 1978) is a Georgian military unit leader who currently commands the Georgian Legion in Ukraine.

Early life

Mamuka Mamulashvili was born on 22 April 1978 in Tbilisi, the capital of the then Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet Union. His father, Zurab Mamulashvili, was a military commander during the 1992–1993 War in Abkhazia. His sister, Nona Mamulashvili, is a politician and deputy of Parliament of Georgia. She is a member of the United National Movement party of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

War in Abkhazia

Mamulashvili fought for Georgia in the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993) when he was 14, alongside his father who was a Georgian military officer. Mamulashvili later recalled, "My first war was in the 1990s, in Abkhazia." During the war he was captured by Abkhaz forces and held for three months before being released.

First Chechen War

Mamulashvili fought as a foreign volunteer against Russian forces in the First Chechen War (1994–1996).

Return to Georgia

After the First Chechen War, Mamulashvili traveled to Paris to finish his education. He then returned to Georgia and served as a senior military advisor to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Mamulashvili fought for Georgia in the Russo-Georgian War of 2008.

Ukraine

Mamulashvili moved to Ukraine in 2013 in order to support the Euromaidan.

Georgian Legion

In 2014, Mamulashvili was one of the founding members of the Ukrainian Georgian Legion and is currently leading it against the 2022 Russian invasion. He took part in the Battle of Hostomel Airport.

Mamulashvili supports a no-fly zone to be placed over Ukraine, which he says is necessary to prevent Russian airstrikes.

There has 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. In an interview published by the YouTube channel of the dissident Russian businessman Mikhail 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." Mamoulashvili justified no quarter for Russian soldiers as a response to the Bucha massacre.

Criminal charges in Russia

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.

Coup plot accusation in Georgia

On September 18, 2023, the State Security Service of Georgia (SSG) accused Saakashvili and his followers of plotting with the Ukrainian government and Georgian volunteers in Ukraine of planning a Coup d'état against the Georgian government.

• 3rd degree Order of Vakhtang Gorgasali (1992)
• Order of the People's Hero of Ukraine
• Order for Courage
• Cross of Ivan Mazepa
• Medal "For Sacrifice and Love for Ukraine"