Georgian volunteer dies in clashes with Russian troops in Ukraine
Bigvava's parents moved to Ukraine after the 1992-1993 war in Georgia’s now-Russian-occupied region of Abkhazia. The family has said they want to transport the body of the volunteer back to the western Georgian city of Zugdidi.Photo: IPN.ge
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Tato Bigvava, a 27-year-old Georgian volunteer joining Ukrainian forces to defend the country against the ongoing Russian invasion, was killed in clashes with Russian troops in the Azovstal steelworks plant in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Interpressnews agency said on Thursday.
His sister told Interpressnews the body of Bigvava had not been yet retrieved from the plant, adding President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had awarded her brother a month ago for his courage.
Bigvava was a citizen of Ukraine and enlisted in the Ukrainian Azov Battalion since 2014.
Bigvava's parents moved to Ukraine after the 1992-1993 war in Georgia’s now-Russian-occupied region of Abkhazia. The family has said they want to transport the body of the volunteer back to the western Georgian city of Zugdidi.
David Ratiani and Gia Beriashvili, the two Georgian volunteers killed in combat action in Ukraine, were buried with military honours in Tbilisi on Saturday.
A fourth Georgian volunteer has died in combat action near the Ukrainian city of Irpin, the Georgian Foreign Ministry confirmed to Radio Liberty on Saturday.
Giorgi Zakarashvili, the Ambassador of Georgia to Ukraine, said the Georgian side was “actively cooperating” with the relevant structures in Ukraine to ensure the transportation of the bodies of two Georgian volunteers who had died in war in Ukraine.
The bodies of Zaza Bitsadze and Alika Tsaava, two Georgian volunteers killed during hostilities in Ukraine, were transferred to Georgia earlier today, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Georgian service has reported.