TBILISI. May 12 (Interfax) - A former Georgian army officer was killed in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on Thursday, media outlets reported citing a former Georgian armed forces colonel, David Makishvili, who is fighting on the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
"So far, until this tragic news is told to his family, we have not disclosed the name of our fellow citizen, who was fighting as part of the Aidar battalion as a volunteer for two years. He was killed near the village of Novyi Luhansk in a mortar attack," Makishvili said.
The Georgian embassy in Kyiv will make sure that the Georgian man's body is sent to his home country, he said.
The Georgian Defense Ministry said on Friday that the identity of the dead Georgian citizen had been established.
"He was serving in the Armed Forces of Georgia several years ago. He went to Ukraine at his own initiative," the ministry said.