Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) has denied orchestrating protests in Slovakia after the country’s prime minister accused it of working though a Georgian group to plot a coup d’etat in Slovakia.
On Friday, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico banned the leader of the Georgian Legion, a unit fighting alongside Kyiv’s forces in Ukraine, from entering the country. He accused Mamuka Mamulashvili of working with the Slovak opposition to organize pro-EU demonstrations in Slovakia and declared him and nine other people persona non grata.
Fico claimed the Georgian Legion is under the command of Ukrainian intelligence, the Ukrainska Pravda news service said, adding that Fico had accused it of orchestrating the protests, even going as far as to claim that “every third protester was Ukrainian.”
HUR responded to Fico’s accusations in a post on the Telegram app in which it said there is no unit called the ‘Georgian National Legion’ within its structure, adding that its International Legion is a multinational combat unit active on the front lines and “does not conduct hybrid operations in European Union countries.”
“HUR resolutely rejects the false accusations of organizing illegal actions in Slovakia,” the statement read, going on to say Ukraine cooperates closely with its NATO partners and adheres to alliance standards, including in transparency.
The statement went on to request that European leaders be cautious with their words in relation to friendly countries in order not to fuel anti-Western propaganda.
HUR also distanced itself from Mamulashvili, saying he is not a Ukrainian serviceman and receives no directives from Ukrainian intelligence. They added that Mamulashvili’s contract with the International Legion had expired in April 2023.
Mamulashvili described the accusations against him as a deliberate attempt to discredit the Georgian Legion, which in turn dismissed Fico’s allegations as “absurd and groundless.”
Fico’s allegations related to mass street protests in January that saw tens of thousands of people voice anger at his pro-Russian stance over Ukraine and a visit to Moscow during which he met Vladimir Putin. Protesters across the country demanded Fico’s resignation.
Fico claimed the Georgian Legion is under the command of Ukrainian intelligence, the Ukrainska Pravda news service said, adding that Fico had accused it of orchestrating the protests, even going as far as to claim that “every third protester was Ukrainian.”
HUR responded to Fico’s accusations in a post on the Telegram app in which it said there is no unit called the ‘Georgian National Legion’ within its structure, adding that its International Legion is a multinational combat unit active on the front lines and “does not conduct hybrid operations in European Union countries.”
“HUR resolutely rejects the false accusations of organizing illegal actions in Slovakia,” the statement read, going on to say Ukraine cooperates closely with its NATO partners and adheres to alliance standards, including in transparency.
The statement went on to request that European leaders be cautious with their words in relation to friendly countries in order not to fuel anti-Western propaganda.
HUR also distanced itself from Mamulashvili, saying he is not a Ukrainian serviceman and receives no directives from Ukrainian intelligence. They added that Mamulashvili’s contract with the International Legion had expired in April 2023.
Mamulashvili described the accusations against him as a deliberate attempt to discredit the Georgian Legion, which in turn dismissed Fico’s allegations as “absurd and groundless.”
Fico’s allegations related to mass street protests in January that saw tens of thousands of people voice anger at his pro-Russian stance over Ukraine and a visit to Moscow during which he met Vladimir Putin. Protesters across the country demanded Fico’s resignation.
