Radical opposition taking Georgian volunteers to Ukraine – PM

Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday said the United National Movement “radical opposition” was taking Georgian volunteers to Ukraine to fight [against Russia]. 

Speaking at the government meeting, the official accused the UNM of “hypocrisy and sending fake condolences” over killing Georgian volunteers in Ukraine and said that the party was only interested in “sparking tension and dragging Georgia into the war”. 

Reminding the UNM that its leaders “abandoned our killed and wounded soldiers” on the battlefield in the Russia-Georgia 2008 war and “ran away”, the PM said if still in office the UNM would have turned the country into the battlefield. 

“Our main commitment is to maintain peace and stability in the country, which is the determinant of our prosperity. We have fought three times since we regained our independence, that is enough. We want to develop our country in a reasonable way, this is national policy and not war,” Garibashvili said. 

Citing the Georgian fighters killed in Ukraine as “poor boys”, Garibashvili said the government would cover the expenses of their repatriation and would take all necessary steps to bury them with military honors without “making PR like the opposition”. 

Six Georgian volunteers have been killed in Ukraine by Russian troops this month, bringing the death toll to 33.