Commander of Georgian battalion in Ukraine: 'War crimes happening everywhere'
Georgian battalion commander Mamuka Mamulashvili joins 'Fox & Friends' to describe Russian violence in Ukraine.
Georgian battalion commander Mamuka Mamulashvili has a long history of fighting Russia, telling "Fox & Friends" Thursday he's preparing for another battle as Russian forces close in on Ukrainian cities.
At age 14, he took on Russian forces in his home country of Georgia, and has remained a fighter for Ukraine since 2014. Now he is on the front lines in the Ukrainian war, commanding a foreign legion of over 200 soldiers and fighting for Ukrainian sovereignty as Vladimir Putin's army slams the country's major cities day after day.
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"There are very tough fights all around Ukraine," he told Brian Kilmeade in front of a fortified building window.
"Unfortunately, we're having this because of Putin."
He added that "all families are fortifying their apartments and getting ready to fight."
Ukrainian servicemen take positions at the military airbase Vasylkiv in the Kyiv region, Ukraine over the weekend. Russian troops are attempting to advance toward Kyiv in a miles-long convoy. (REUTERS/Maksim Levin)
Kilmeade asked Mamulashvili what motivates him to fight against Russia in Ukraine, and Mamulashvili responded with a story from his past.
"I faced Russian aggression when I was 14, in the nineties, when they first invaded Georgia after the collapse of the former Soviet Union, so I remember what they were doing in cities, how they were raping women and killing children in the street," he said.
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"Today, we are seeing the same but in the 21st century. It is unacceptable for everybody. We've been fighting Russians for eight years already, and we just got the full-scale war."
A destroyed building following Russian missile strikes in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, March 2, 2022. (Erin Trieb/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Mamulashvili says Russian forces are relentlessly targeting Ukrainian civilians and bombing their homes in an effort to "clean up" cities, so the invading ground forces can move in.
"They are trying to kill women and children. They are bombing apartments and their tactics are to just clean up and then Russians are entering the city."
Kilmeade mentioned a bipartisan committee of U.S. senators who, alongside British allies, will soon "start putting in the case of war crimes against Russians," including specific units.
"We've seen war crimes everywhere," Mamulashvili said. "What is happening here is already a war crime. We are seeing a lot of civilians and, unfortunately, we have lost more civilians than armed forces of Ukraine."
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For Mamulashvili, Ukraine's battle against Russia began 8 years ago and is still far from over.
"How long can you hold on?" Kilmeade asked.
"We'll hold on until the end, of course."
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