Georgian Fools Fighting in Ukraine: A Last-Ditch Battle for Some

Henry Kamens, September 18

A growing number of Georgian fighters are returning from Ukraine and Europe—some fleeing, others deported—after risking their lives in a conflict that has left them scarred, both physically and mentally.

One such individual, I will use only his first name, Gocha, made an unexpected visit to the Georgian village where I live in early September. Though not a guest in my home, he was helping a neighbor with the hazelnut harvest, struggling to make ends meet. Gocha, who has been unable to secure stable employment due to health issues and the stigma of fighting as a mercenary, shared his grim story.

Having spent a year and a half fighting with the notorious Georgian Legion*, Gocha returned home last year, suffering from a brain concussion and severe financial strain. The promised full payments for his services never materialized, and neither the Georgian Legion* nor its backers compensated him for his battle injuries or the medical bills that followed. His friends criticized him for getting involved, calling him “messed up in the head,” yet they understood his motivation—he did it for the money.

Gocha’s resentment runs deep, especially towards Mamuka Mamulashvili, the Legion’s commander, and his sister Nona, in his view, they’ve all profited from playing the role of patriots, claiming to defend Ukraine, Georgia, and democracy while supporting U.S. foreign policy—at the expense of fighters like him, not to mention the population where they served.

Nona’s story is also one of intrigue, and corruption, working to overthrow the current Georgian government, in tandem with the Hudson Institute, a Washington-based think tank. She is also a member of the United National Party, Party of Saakashvili, and former Georgian MP. Nona Mamulashvili has also worked on the staff of the current Georgian president, Salome Zurabishvili when she was working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose presidential positions and actions stand opposite to official governmental policy.

As we have discussed previously at NEO, the work of the Georgian Legion* is highly suspect, as is its Commander, Mamuka Mamulashvili, who has a very sordid track record and has suspicious links to high-ranking members of the OSCE, as well as NATO connections, and links to the acting Georgian president, Salome Zurabshvili, who has personally honored the deaths of many Legion Members, even though many of them are war criminals and are involved in a foreign conflict the Georgian government officially does not want to get involved, in any way, other than to provide humanitarian assistance and shelter refugees.

He swallowed the cool-aid

Gocha, our wounded warrior, described the brother and sister team as money-grabbing criminals, who make money off the lives of Georgians and those they robe, rape and murder. Now he is convinced that  he is still being paid, at least officially, but he has no idea as to where the money went or is going, claiming it should be well over 5,000 dollars a month, as he was in the very front line of the fighting, and took part in what he claims were special operations.

Upon arriving back, the Georgian authorities gave him hell for his involvement in a Paramilitary Group that is known for having intentions of overthrowing the democratically elected government, and with elections coming soon; the more Legionnaires who return, the louder the alarm bells are ringing. What can a demobilized soldier of fortune do other than look for another cause, a paying one, especially in an election year that is not going in favor of America’s preferred outcome for Georgia?

After being subjected to close monitoring and threats of arrest for his activities, Gocha tried Germany, thinking it would lend support to his plight—as Germans too hate Russians. He was told by some of his friends in Georgia that it would be easy for him to obtain political refugee status. Much to his dismay, his application was soon rejected, and he was hurried onto a plane and deported back to Georgia.

I let him know what I thought of idiots who went to fight for money, in a conflict that was not his/theirs to start with, and why should he have anything to complain about now? I reminded him of how many of his buddies have died; at least 60 of them are food for earthworms, perhaps more.

Ukrainian and Western media describe losses and causalities of those members of the Georgian Legion* who had been defending Ukraine since the start of Russia’s SMO in Ukraine, as having been killed in the combat zone.  Georgians likely rank first among foreign fighters killed fighting for Ukraine—Poland perhaps more, but we will never know.

We almost got into a fight, when I used the correct terms in Russian to describe the purpose of the Georgian Legion* and its CIA paymasters—and why fools went to die for America and NATO and to start a revolution back in their native Georgia. I reminded him that I spent six years in the US Army. And despite my age, I cannot back down when threatened.

We almost got into a fight, when I used the correct terms in Russian to describe the purpose of the Georgian Legion* and its CIA paymasters—and why fools went to die for America and NATO

But sooner than expected the problem of Georgian mercenaries may be resolved, based on body count alone, with their participation in the Kursk incursion, as members of the Georgian Legion*, a paramilitary force supported by Kyiv and its CIA/NATO paymasters are involved in the Ukrainian assault on Russian territory.

The presence of this group was also reported by War Zone, Veterans Today, and Intel Drop, somewhat well-known military news sites, albeit suppressed, which have cited sources with direct knowledge of the operations in the region. Some reports have included a video shared by a pro-Ukrainian account on X (formerly Twitter) as direct evidence of their involvement in the incursion.

Keeping to character, members of the Legion have openly bragged about a policy of not taking Russian prisoners and torturing POWS, as has been the case in both Kursk and other zones of engagement.  However, most volunteers, at least until recently, were stationed in rear positions, supposedly to provide hands-on training to foreign recruits.

Another local, actually from my village, in Georgia, was rejected by the Legion after several months, and sent packing (sent home), not because of not being physically able to fight, or health or motivation of having a common enemy, but his refusal to participate or condone war crimes.

All in the Family

It reminds me of a situation comedy during the years of the Vietnam War, “All in the Family” in the 1970s, while the family was having a Christmas Dinner with someone evading mandatory service, having escaped to Canada to avoid being sent to the war, like many Ukrainians who have left for Russia, Europe, or anywhere they can find haven.

I wish today, in discussing Ukraine, popular TV and the media had the guts to tell it like it was discussed in this program, as this is serious humor, dealing with real social issues. Such writing for TV does not exist anymore, and I guess it is like the movie, as nobody would understand just how serious this was for its time.  I wish they had not ruined it with canned laughter in inappropriate places.

This is the only problem with the production, as it wrecks the sense of raw emotion, toning it down, to avoid getting cut by the censors. Many Georgian fighters have returned home disillusioned, facing a lack of compensation and dealing with the medical or psychological consequences of their involvement in the conflict. Unlike early on in what turned into a Russian SMO, caused by a US-sponsored coup dating back to 2014, they are no longer considered patriots with a common enemy—but are there, in the vast majority of cases, only for the money.

Only Keeping to Character

The Georgian Legion* is notorious for its anti-Russian sentiment and alleged war crimes, including the brutal treatment and summary execution of Russian prisoners. It too has been a key link in the training of foreign recruits and has reportedly participated in incursions into Russia’s Kursk Region.

The grim reality faced by Georgian fighters who joined the Georgian Legion* to fight in Ukraine is that their actions go against the official standing policy of the government. Most of the Legion’s Base of Support is from the defamed opposition, the United National Movement and advised by foreign-funded US think tanks, such as the Hudson Institute, the link to Nona, the sister.

Most of these soldiers, lured by promises of BIG money and glory, are now returning to Georgia, scarred both physically and emotionally. As more fighters return to Georgia, the government faces increasing challenges, with questions surrounding the future of these disillusioned, war-hardened criminals, in most cases.

The Georgian Legion* has been officially integrated into the Ukrainian Armed Forces indicating some degree of logistical, financial, and material support from the Ukrainian government, which should subject them to rules of war, and how to treat POWs.  However, this is more window dressing, to protect them from harsher treatment if taken prisoner, as Russia is still following the Geneva Convention.

The Georgian Legion* is likely funded through a combination of Ukrainian government support, private donations, and covert backing from Western intelligence services, particularly the CIA. These streams of funding are in line with Western goals to support America’s and NATO’s proxy war against the Russian Federation without direct military involvement, keeping the Georgian Legion* as a key, though controversial, player in this effort.

Hopefully, the government of Georgia will follow through and keep these mercenaries under constant surveillance upon their return to Georgia. As we can see, they appear to be the masters of bad choices, and it would be terrible to see them make one that could do so much damage to the reputation of their homeland.

*-banned in Russia

 

Henry Kamens, columnist, expert on Central Asia and Caucasus, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”

 

https://journal-neo.su/2024/09/18/georgian-fools-fighting-in-ukraine-a-last-ditch-battle-for-some/

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

By Scott Ritter
Special to Consortium News

 

 

Most Americans approached last weekend thinking about how they would spend the much-anticipated end of the work week with their friends and family.

Few realize how close they came to actualizing the scenario so horrifyingly spelled out in Annie Jacobsen’s alarming must-read book, Nuclear War: A Scenario.

72 minutes.

That is all it takes to end the world as we know it.

That is less time than most movies playing at the local cinema.

Most people could not drive to the local home improvement store to buy the materials needed to do the little repairs around the home that usually wait for the weekend.

Walk the dogs?

Play with the kids?

Forget about it.

72 minutes.

And everything you thought you lived your life for would be dead.

And if you survived?

To quote Nikita Khrushchev, “The survivors would envy the dead.”

Ukraine, together with many of its NATO allies, has been asking for permission from the United States, the United Kingdom, and France to be able to employ precision-guided long-range weapons systems provided by these countries against targets deep inside Russia.

On Sept. 6, at a meeting of the Ramstein Contact Group, a forum where U.S.-NATO military support to Ukraine is coordinated, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky personally appealed to the group for more weapons support from its Western allies and called on allies to allow Ukraine to use the weapons they provided to strike deeper inside Russia.

Zelensky Seeks ‘Long-Range Capability’

“We need to have this long-range capability,” Zelensky said, addressing the attendees, who included U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, 

“not only on the divided territory of Ukraine but also on Russian territory so that Russia is motivated to seek peace. We need to make Russian cities, and even Russian soldiers think about what they need: peace or Putin.”

Secretary Austin, in comments made afterwards, said he didn’t think the use of long-range missiles to strike inside Russia would help end the war, adding that he expected the conflict would be resolved through negotiations. Moreover, Austin noted, Ukraine had its own weapons capable of attacking targets well beyond the range of the British Storm Shadow cruise missile.

Despite Austin’s pushback, President Joe Biden appeared to be on track to give Zelensky the green light he was looking for regarding the use of British-provided Storm Shadow cruise missiles and U.S.-provided long-range ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) missiles for strikes on Russian soil. 

On Sept. 11, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, accompanied by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, visited Ukraine, where they held meetings with Zelensky and his newly appointed foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha. 

Blinken & Lammy in Ukraine

Blinken and Lammy, however, failed to make the announcement the Ukrainians were waiting with bated breath to hear. Instead, Blinken and Lammy reiterated the full support of their respective nations to Ukraine’s victory, adding that they would adapt their support to meet Ukrainian needs. “The bottom line is this: We want Ukraine to win,” Blinken said after his meeting with Zelensky.

The stage was now set for Keir Starmer, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, to fly to Washington, D.C., last Friday, where he would meet with Biden and jointly agree to give Ukraine permission to use Storm Shadow and ATACMS against targets inside Russia.

Starmer Goes to Washington

Russia has long made it clear that it would view any nation which authorized the use of its weapons to strike Russia as a direct party to the conflict. 

In comments to the media in Russia  last Thursday — one day before the Biden-Starmer meeting at the White House — Russian President Vladimir Putin made it clear that any lifting of the restrictions on Ukrainian use of U.S.- and U.K.-provided long-range weapons would change “the very essence of the conflict.”  He said:

“This will mean that NATO countries, the United States, European countries are fighting Russia. And if this is the case, then…we will make appropriate decisions in response to the threats that will be posed to us.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, speaking after Putin’s announcement, noted that the Russian president’s words were “extremely clear” and that they had reached their intended audience — U.S. President Biden. 

Biden didn’t seem happy about the message. In responding to a question from reporters prior to his meeting with Prime Minister Starmer at the White House about what he thought about Putin’s warning, Biden snapped angrily, “I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin.”

The evidence suggests otherwise.

At a White House press conference that same day, Robbie Gramer, the White House correspondent for Politico, asked John Kirby, the spokesperson for the National Security Council, “Do you take Putin at his words that strikes into Russian territory by U.S. — or British — or French-made missiles would actually expand the war?”

Kirby’s response was telling in many ways. “It’s hard to take anything coming out of Putin’s face at his word.  But this is not rhetoric that we haven’t heard from him before, so there’s really not a lot new there.”

Gramer followed up: “So, in other words, you know, in the deliberations about this long-range strike, threats from Putin are not a big factor for you guys in your deliberations on this?”

“Well,” Kirby responded, 

“you didn’t let me finish the answer, so let me try…I never said, nor have I — would we ever say that we don’t take Mr. Putin’s threats seriously.  When he starts brandishing the nuclear sword, for instance, yeah, we take that seriously, and we constantly monitor that kind of activity.  He obviously has proven capable of aggression.  

He has obviously proven capable of escalation over the last, now, going on three years. So, yeah, we take these comments seriously, but it is not something that we haven’t heard before.  So, we take note of it.  Got it.  We have our own calculus for what we decide to provide to Ukraine and what not.  And I think I’d leave it there.”

Just to drive the point home, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, told the Security Council last Friday that NATO would “be a direct party to hostilities against a nuclear power,” if it allowed Ukraine to use longer range weapons against Russia. “You shouldn’t forget about this and think about the consequences,” he declared.

‘Don’t Play With Fire’

The finishing touches on driving home the seriousness of Putin’s warning was left to the Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov. Speaking to the Russian media also last Friday Antonov said he was surprised that many American officials believed that 

“if there is a conflict, it will not spread to the territory of the United States of America. I am constantly trying to convey to them one thesis that the Americans will not be able to sit it out behind the waters of this ocean. This war will affect everyone, so we constantly say – do not play with this rhetoric.”

Putin’s words had caught the attention of several former U.S. government officials, who had called Antonov for clarification. 

“Yesterday’s statements from Vladimir Putin were weighed very carefully here. Several ex-officials called me asking to explain what actually stands behind those statements. I simply replied: ‘Don’t play with fire.’”

Antonov’s sentiments were likely echoed through existing back-channel communications used by the Department of Defense and the C.I.A.

In the end, the message got through — Biden pulled back from giving Ukraine the permissions it sought.

Most Americans are unaware about how close they came to waking up Saturday morning, only to find that it was their last.

Ukraine Was Ready to Launch

Had Biden yielded to Starmer’s pressure (the British, together with Ukraine and several NATO nations, believed that Putin was bluffing), and signed off on the permission, Ukraine was prepared to launch strikes on Russia that night. 

(British soldiers deployed in Ukraine would be needed to operate the Storm Shadows and they are already there, according to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has refused to send similar weapons to Ukraine.)

Russia would likely have responded with conventional attacks on Kiev using new weapons, such as the Avangard hypersonic warhead, which would each deliver a blow equivalent to 26-28 tons of explosives. 

Russia would also most likely have struck NATO targets in Poland and Romania where Ukrainian fighters are based. And, lastly, Russia would have struck British military targets, possibly including those on the British Isles.

This would prompt a NATO retaliation under Article 5, using a large number of NATO long-range strike weapons targeting Russian command and control, airfields, and ammunition storage facilities.

The Russian response would most likely involve the launching of more Avangard conventional warheads against NATO targets, including Ramstein airbase and NATO headquarters, as well as airbases from which strikes against Russia were launched.

At this juncture the United States, using nuclear employment plans derived from a nuclear posture which emphasizes the pre-emptive use of low yield nuclear weapons to “escalate to deescalate”— i.e., force Russia to back down through a demonstration of capability — would authorize the use of one or more low-yield nuclear warheads against Russian targets on Russian soil.

But Russian doctrine has no capacity for engaging in a limited nuclear war. Instead, Russia would respond with a general nuclear retaliation targeting all of Europe and the United States.

Whatever U.S. strategic forces that survived this onslaught would be fired at Russia.

And then we all die.

72 minutes.

And the world ends.

We were one stroke of the pen away from this outcome on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024.

This isn’t a drill.

This isn’t an academic exercise.

This is the real world.

This is life or death.

This is your future held hostage by a madman in Kiev, backed by lunatics in Europe.

The question is — what are we going to do about it?

There is an election on Nov. 5 where the next commander-in-chief of the United States will be selected by “we, the people.”

This person will be the one holding the pen in any future scenario where life or death decisions that could manifest into a general nuclear war will be made.

It is incumbent upon we, the people, to make sure that Americans demand the candidates for this office articulate their policy vision regarding the war in Ukraine, the prospects of peace with Russia, and what they will do to prevent the outbreak of nuclear war.

But they won’t do that if we, the people, remain silent about the issue.

Stand up.

Speak out.

Demand to be heard.

72 minutes is all it takes to end life as we know it.

We almost all died over the weekend of Sept. 14-15, 2024.

What are we going to do to make sure that doesn’t happen again?

Scott Ritter is a former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer who served in the former Soviet Union implementing arms control treaties, in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm and in Iraq overseeing the disarmament of WMD. His most recent book is Disarmament in the Time of Perestroika, published by Clarity Press.

 

https://consortiumnews.com/2024/09/19/scott-ritter-72-hours/

 

 

 

MAKE A DEAL PRONTO BEFORE THE SHIT HITS THE FAN:

 

 

NO NATO IN "UKRAINE" (WHAT'S LEFT OF IT)

THE DONBASS REPUBLICS ARE NOW BACK IN THE RUSSIAN FOLD — AS THEY USED TO BE PRIOR 1922. THE RUSSIANS WON'T ABANDON THESE AGAIN.

THESE WILL ALSO INCLUDE ODESSA, KHERSON AND KHARKIV.....

CRIMEA IS RUSSIAN — AS IT USED TO BE PRIOR 1954

TRANSNISTRIA WILL BE PART OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION.

A MEMORANDUM OF NON-AGGRESSION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE USA.

 

EASY.

 

THE WEST KNOWS IT.

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

Poland’s political class has generally been at the forefront of powers cheerleading Ukraine’s entry into Western institutions including NATO and the European Union, notwithstanding underlying tensions over the World War II-era massacre of tens of thousands of ethnic Poles by Ukrainian ultranationalists lionized by the post-2014 regime in Kiev.

Volodymyr Zelensky was reportedly “left seething” after last month’s meeting with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who impeded the Kiev regime’s aspirations to join the EU by tying the issue to demands that ethnic Poles killed by Ukrainian fascists during WWII be exhumed from their final resting places in what is now western Ukraine.

Sources told Bloomberg about the tensions, which are said to have coincided “with mounting war fatigue” among Kiev’s Western sponsors, and growing uncertainty over post-2014 Ukraine’s constitutionally-mandated pursuit of membership in the EU and NATO.

As many as 100,000 ethnic Polish civilians and tens of thousands of Russians, Jews, anti-fascist Ukrainians were murdered en masse by members of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrainian acronym UPA) – an ultranationalist militia operating in Nazi-occupied western Ukraine during the second World War. Killings and terrorism largely took place between 1943-1944, but continued into the early 1950s. Between 100,000 and 200,000 Ukrainians would fight in the UPA, compared to over six million who served in the Red Army.

In post-2005 Orange Revolution Ukraine and especially after 2014, UPA leaders Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych have been idolized as heroes and fighters for Ukraine’s independence, with monuments erected in their honor and streets renamed to carry their names in cities across the country. Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich revoked his predecessor’s decision to posthumously award Bandera and Shukhevych ‘hero of Ukraine’ titles in 2011 prior to his ouster in a coup three years later.

Polish Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz announced publicly last week that Kiev “will not join the EU if it does not address the Volyn issue, if there is no accord, no exhumations and no remembrance.”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk hinted as much at a press conference in August, saying “there is a need to dig into this history [of the WWII-era massacres, ed.] if we are about to build a good future,” and warning that “as long as there is no respect for those standards from the Ukrainian side, then Ukraine will certainly not become part of the European family.”

But the matter could be a risky endeavor to undertake for Zelensky, who discovered shortly after taking office in 2019 the power wielded by pro-Bandera ultranationalists in Kiev, nearly getting ousted for expressing support for the Steinmeier formula for peace in the Donbass. An admission of guilt for UPA’s crimes against Poles may trigger similar protests from the powerful informal lobby of jackbooted thugs.

A Polish government official told Bloomberg that failure to resolve the bitter history will create “an opening for extremists” and could undermine Warsaw’s support for Kiev.

Despite their strategic partnership, officials and politicians in Warsaw have not shied away from slamming Kiev’s displays of affection for Bandera and the UPA. Last year on the 80th anniversary of the massacres, former Sejm lawmaker Mateusz Piskorski suggested that the Zelensky regime’s “war as anti-Russian puppets of the Anglo-Saxons is none of our business,” and that it was “idiotic” for Warsaw to “talk about some kind of brotherhood and strategic partnership” with a country that considers Bandera and Shukhevych heroes.

“If we don’t interfere, let’s stop financing the state that appeals to neo-Banderism, let’s end the risky delivery of arms and equipment, the multi-billion [zloty] tranches of non-repayable aid. After all, we would not support Germany if the authorities in that country began erecting busts of Heinrich Himmler and monuments to Adolf Hitler,” Piskorski urged.

Poland has contributed nearly $5 billion in military, economic and humanitarian aid to Ukraine since 2022, and its political elites have been active supporters of a US-led effort to turn Ukraine into an ‘anti-Russia’ designed to weaken and divide its eastern neighbors going back to the early 1990s.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20241013/zelensky-left-seething-after-meeting-with-polish-minister-over-wwii-massacre-by-ukrainian-fascists-1120535618.html

 

YUCKRAINE ( THE NAZI REGIME IN KIEV) IS LOSING THIS CONFLICT. RUSSIA HAS NO CHOICE BUT WIN. POLAND HAS TO FIND WAYS TO DISENTANGLE WITH THE FOOL ZELENSKYYYY.... POLAND DOES NOT HAVE TO LOOK FAR: THE NAZIS ARE STILL ADMIRED IN YUCKRAINE... FASCISM IS YUCKRAINE'S BREAD AND BUTTER....

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.