Public Project
Fluter.de - "We are fighting for the freedom of two countries," says Zurab Jibut.
For Fluter.de - "We are fighting for the freedom of two countries," says Zurab Jibut.
For decades, Georgia and Ukraine have faced a similar challenge: defying Russia’s claim to power. In Ukraine, Georgian volunteers are therefore also fighting for the democratic future of their own country.
On two metal prostheses, Zurab Jibut wobbles toward the gates of a cemetery. The Georgian lost both legs during the summer offensive in Belgorod in 2024. His friend and comrade Nasirovi Nodari was even less fortunate, losing his life during a mission in the spring of this year. Both fought in the Georgian Foreign Legion in Ukraine. According to its own statements, over 500 Georgian soldiers are fighting in the “Georgian Legion,” and Belarusians and Chechens have also joined it. When Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, the Legion was initially founded as a volunteer battalion. Two years later, the Ukrainian parliament integrated it into its armed forces.
Zurab Jibut also traveled to Georgia in December 2024 to take part in protests against the now Russia-friendly government. He is currently waiting for his veteran status to be recognized. But for him, the fight is not over. “We believe that we will prevail, that Ukraine and Georgia will both be sovereign democratic countries,” says Jibut.(…)
Some want to get rid of him at any cost. Others see him as a long-standing ally. What Mamulashvili definitely is: a man who has dedicated his life to fighting Russian imperialist ambitions in the region. At the age of 14, he fought alongside his father, a Georgian military officer, in the Abkhazia War. He then fought in the Caucasus War and in Chechnya. And now in Ukraine. He is the founder and commander of the Georgian Legion.(..)
577
