Pipiya (Fifiya) Levan Dzhanikoevich (ძანიკოევიჩ ფიფია (ფიფია) ლევანი)

In April 2022, the Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case on the recruitment of mercenaries and their participation in an armed conflict against the commander of the 'Georgian National Legion' Mamuka Mamulaishvili and 24 Georgian citizens. According to law enforcement officers, Georgian citizen Mamuka Mamulasvili created an armed formation "Georgian National Legion" on the territory of Ukraine, became its leader and involved 24 Georgian citizens in its activities and the activities of a number of other Ukrainian armed formations as mercenaries. They are participating in combat operations on the territory of Ukraine against representatives of the DNR, LNR, and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Furthermore, in connection with the publication on the Internet of calls for violence against Russian military personnel, a criminal case was opened against Mamulasvili for inciting hatred against the social group of Russian military personnel, with threats of violence and using his official position. 5. ____ The Supreme Court of the Donetsk People's Republic issued a verdict in absentia in a criminal case against 34-year-old Georgian citizen Levan Pipia. He was found guilty under part 1 year "Article 359 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (recruitment, training and other material support of a mercenary, as well as his use in an armed conflict), part. 3rd art. Article 359 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (participation of a mercenary in an armed conflict). On 31 October 2022, the Southern Military Court found Sergey Pestryakov guilty and sentenced him to 2 years imprisonment to be served in a general regime penal colony. Pipia personally recruited and sent mercenaries to the Georgian National Legion units in the areas of armed conflict to engage in combat operations. For this purpose, he posted information on the Internet, including on the website of the Georgian National Legion, about recruiting new mercenaries, paying for their activities, addresses and phone numbers through which interested persons could contact the leadership of the legion, learn about the methods of concluding a contract and being sent to the territory of Ukraine. Pipia also reported that the Georgian National Legion on the territory of Ukraine has a large number of training bases and camps located in the Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv and Mykolaiv regions, where he personally conducts training of mercenaries as an instructor. In June 2018, Pipia was appointed to the position of deputy commander of the Georgian National Legion. He participated in hostilities in the cities of Avdiivka and Bakhmut of the Donetsk People's Republic, as well as in the cities of Orekhov and Gulyaypole of the Zaporozhye region against representatives of the security forces of the DPR and military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. For these actions, he received a reward of more than 6.9 million rubles. Taking into account the position of the state prosecutor, the court sentenced Pipiya in absentia to 24 years of imprisonment to be served in a strict regime correctional colony. In March 2023, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow issued an in absentia arrest warrant for four members of the "Georgian National Legion": Lasha Rukhaia, Vasil Alibegashvili, Erekle Amiranasvili, Liban Pipiya, and Veka Apresov.