Russian prosecutors said on August 4 that they charged Aleko Elisashvili, leader of the opposition Citizens Party, in absentia over fighting against Russian forces in Ukraine as a “mercenary,” placing the politician on the international wanted list.
“The Prosecutor’s Office of the Donetsk People’s Republic has approved the indictment in a criminal case against 47-year-old Georgian citizen Aleko Elisashvili. He is charged in absentia under Part 3 of Article 359 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (participation of a mercenary in an armed conflict),” Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office said in the statement.
According to the prosecutor’s statement, in March 2022, Elisashvili entered Ukraine from Poland and joined the “Georgian National Legion,” part of the 25th Territorial Defense Battalion in the Kyiv region. Prosecutors allege that he underwent military training, was equipped with weapons and gear, and took part in combat operations against Russian troops, including in the battle for the city of Irpin. They claim he left Ukraine the following month, returned to Georgia, and received payment for his actions.
The case has been sent to the occupation authorities of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” for trial.
Elisashvili, then a Georgian MP, volunteered to fight in Ukraine shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, and returned to Georgia about a month later after reportedly taking part in combat, including on the frontline in Irpin during Ukraine’s military campaign to reclaim control over the satellite town northwest of Kyiv, the capital. The charges come as Elisashvili’s party is actively campaigning as part of the broader Lelo/Strong Georgia coalition for the partially boycotted local elections scheduled on October 4.
The Georgian Dream government has not commented on the charges yet. Several other Georgian citizens were charged or sentenced by Russia for fighting in Ukraine
Also Read:
- 16/05/2025 – Russian Court Sentences Georgian Citizen to 14 Years for Fighting in Ukraine
- 10/04/2025 – Russian Court Sentences Georgian National to 9 Years for Fighting in Ukraine, Another to 14 in Absentia
- 25/10/2024 – Russia Sentences Georgian Fighters in Ukraine in Absentia
- 21/02/2024 – Russia Sentences Georgian Azovstal Defender to Life in Occupied Donetsk
- 29/07/2023 – Over 70 Georgians Prosecuted by Russia in Absentia for Fighting in Ukraine
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