The head of the Georgian Legion has said he is ready to send “several squads” to fight against “Russian interests” in Gaza, Express.co.uk has been told.
It comes as Israel is said to be preparing for a ground invasion of Gaza after Hamas, the region’s governing power, launched an invasion of its territory earlier this month.
Gaza has been bombarded with thousands of Israeli-fired missiles since Hamas launched its attack, something which has killed thousands of people stuck in the restricted strip of land, of which half the population are children.
The West has come out in condemnation of Hamas’ attack and gradually pushed for Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, as well as pushing for peace talks to prevent the conflict from spreading across the region.
Now, some like Mamuka Mamulashvili, head of the Georgian Legion military group fighting in Ukraine, say the West’s adversaries, such as Russia, are lapping up discontent in the region — and possibly even fuelling the likes of Hamas.
Moscow has long maintained close relations with Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza and benefits from the backing of Iran, itself an ally of Russia.
The Kremlin has never declared either wing of Hamas — political and militant — a terrorist organisation, unlike the UK and the US.
Mr Mamulashvili, who was recently placed on the Kremlin’s ‘most wanted’ list, told Express.co.uk that he believed Russia was helping Hamas in its efforts in order to distract from the Ukraine war.
“We believe that Russia helped with that first invasion into Israel,” he said. “We will of course send a proposal to the Israeli government, and if they agree we can send several squads there [to fight]. It is of course a fight against Russia, so the Georgian Legion will participate against Russian terrorism, it doesn’t matter where this is.”
He went on to claim that extremists in the region have been funded by Russia, something which cannot be verified.
So far, there is no clear evidence that Russia supported Hamas in planning or executing its surprise attack on Israel.
However, as Hannah Notte, the director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center, noted in a piece for Foreign Policy: “But that does not mean that Russia is a nonentity in this latest Israel-Hamas conflict.”
Since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has greatly deepened its ties and cooperation with Iran. It has offered defence support for the country with assistance for its missile and space-launched vehicle programs in return for combat drones and other military gear.
There has also been an increase in Russian-Iranian military engagement, perfectly outlined when Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited an arms exhibition in Tehran in September.
According to classified documents leaked earlier this year, Russia, Iran, and Syria have established a “coordination centre” in order to push US troops out of Syria, whose jobs include preventing a revival of the Islamic State, support for Kurdish forces, and thwart Iranian and Russian forces in the region, some of whom are part of the Wagner Group.
Experts say a new war in the Middle East suits Russian President Vladimir Putin, who wants to deflect attention away from Ukraine.
Days after conflict broke out between Hamas and Israel, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy said he feared that the war could compromise military support for his country.
“Russia is involved in many of these things,” Mr Mamulashvili said. “It will try to spread the attention from Ukraine in any direction.”
According to classified documents leaked earlier this year, Russia, Iran, and Syria have established a “coordination centre” in order to push US troops out of Syria, whose jobs include preventing a revival of the Islamic State, support for Kurdish forces, and thwart Iranian and Russian forces in the region, some of whom are part of the Wagner Group.
Experts say a new war in the Middle East suits Russian President Vladimir Putin, who wants to deflect attention away from Ukraine.
Days, after conflict broke out between Hamas and Israel, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy said he feared that the war could compromise military support for his country.
“Russia is involved in many of these things,” Mr Mamulashvili said. “It will try to spread the attention from Ukraine in any direction.”
