The currently imprisoned former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili on Monday said his mission involved “freeing Georgia from Russian remnants”, and then his return to his “home’ Ukraine to ensure the aid to the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in “reviving the country after defeating Russia”. 

In his message from the Vivamedi civilian clinic, where the former official has been undergoing treatment since May 2022, Saakashvili claimed “not only the days of the Russian army are numbered, but also [its president Vladimir] Putin ''.  "Everyone who is on the side of Ukraine is on the right side of Europe, freedom, territorial integrity and history. Everyone who stood up and insulted Ukraine, will soon face a very big defeat. Not only the Russian army, but Putin's days are numbered. We all have to keep fighting and prepare for  [an appropriate] moment”, he said. 

Saakashvili, who currently holds Ukrainian citizenship and occupied a public post in the country before his arrest in Tbilisi in October 2021, is currently serving his six-year-sentence for abuse of power while in office, with three other cases involving him still pending.