Georgia: Three more Georgian volunteers fighting for Ukraine were killed in military action on Saturday, April 16, Vano Nadiradze, a long-time Georgian soldier in Ukraine, announced on Facebook as well as Giorgi Zakarashvili, the Georgian Ambassador to Ukraine, confirmed.
The death of Arkadi Kasradze in the town of Rubizhne in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk area was first reported by Nadiradze.
Nadiradze later reported about the deaths of two more Georgian fighters, Zaza Bitsadze and Alika Tsaava, later that day.
The death of these three fighters brings the total number of Georgian volunteer fighters killed in the battle against Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine to nine.
As per the sources, the Georgian authorities are in talks with the Ukrainian authorities to bring back the dead bodies of these three victims to Georgia.
Moreover, on April 9, Two Georgian fighters identified as 21-year-old Nika Shanava and 49-year-old Davit Menabdishvili were slain in a Russian artillery fire near Izium, northeastern Ukraine.
As of now, nine Georgians have been killed in Ukraine’s conflict. On April 15, the bodies of Davit Menabdishvili and Nikoloz Shanava were repatriated to Georgia. Menabdishvili was laid to rest with military honours earlier today, while Shanava, 21, will be laid to rest on 17 April.
Before that, Davit Gobejishvili was killed in military action in Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, on March 26.
On March 18, Gia Beriashvili and Davit Ratiani were also killed on the Irpin front, while Bakhva Chikobava was killed in the besieged port city of Mariupol on March 19.
However, the body of Bakhva Chikobava has not yet been repatriated to Georgia due to the besieged city of Mariupol.
All of the nine deceased volunteers are as follows-
- Nika Shanava,
- Davit Menabdishvili,
- Gia Beriashvili,
- Davit Ratiani,
- Davit Gobejishvili,
- Bakhva Chikobava,
- Arkadi Kasradze,
- Zaza Bitsadze and
- Alika Tsaava.
According to UN estimates, at least 1,982 people have been killed and 2,651 injured in Ukraine since the conflict began on February 24, with the actual figure likely to be far higher.
