The Russian Federation has sentenced Georgian citizen Lado Gamsakhurdia, the former commander of the Caucasus Legion, a volunteer unit fighting in Ukraine, to 18 years in prison in absentia and has placed him on the international wanted list.
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The Investigative Committee stated that, based on the evidence they collected, the court found Lado Gamsakhurdia guilty of committing a crime under Parts 1 and 3 of Article 359 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (mercenary warfare).
According to Russian state media reports, the investigation and the court established that Lado Gamsakhurdia joined the armed formation Georgian National Legion as a mercenary in March 2022, where he underwent training and was equipped with weapons, ammunition, and necessary equipment. In May 2022, with the assistance of Ukrainian political and military leadership, he created the armed formation Caucasus Legion.
The case materials indicate that Gamsakhurdia used social networks and the Internet to recruit mercenaries, who were trained at centers organized by him, including in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, before participating in military operations against Russia. According to the Investigative Committee, Gamsakhurdia himself fought as a mercenary in the Ukrainian Armed Forces from March 2022 to August 2024, for which he received material compensation.
Lado Gamsakhurdia has not yet commented on Russia's decision. He is currently in Kyiv, where he heads the organization Round Table - Free Caucasus. The Caucasus Legion, the military wing of this organization, is part of the Ukrainian army.
