By the time Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico launched his attack on the Georgian Legion, the Kremlin’s disinformation machine had already been running for months. A Russian smear campaign—designed to discredit one of Ukraine’s key military units—was seamlessly adopted by Fico, repurposed, and woven into his broader crackdown on domestic dissent. Facing mass protests and accusations of authoritarianism, Fico used the fabricated scandal to reinforce his own conspiracy theory: that Slovakia was under attack from foreign-backed forces plotting a coup.
As 120,000 Slovaks took to the streets against his rule, his government falsely linked civic activists, opposition leaders, and even international organisations to subversion and chaos—just as Russian propaganda had done with the Georgian Legion. Yet investigations dismantled the allegations: the Legion remains a frontline unit, its finances accounted for, and the accusations baseless. What started as a Kremlin operation to undermine Ukraine has now become a tool in Fico’s war against his own people.
Tomáš Forró is a Slovak investigative journalist and war reporter with extensive experience covering conflicts in Ukraine and beyond. In this report, he investigates a months-long Russian disinformation campaign against the Georgian Legion and its impact on Slovak political discourse.
Before Slovakia erupted in its largest anti-government protests in years, Prime Minister Robert Fico was already laying the groundwork for an unprecedented disinformation campaign. As 120,000 Slovaks took to the streets, Fico’s government attempted to discredit the movement by alleging a foreign-backed coup, using a fabricated intelligence report to paint civic activists, opposition figures, and even international organisations as part of a plot to overthrow him. The Georgian Legion disinformation campaign, originally launched by the Kremlin months earlier, became a key tool in this effort. By embracing Russia’s smear campaign against Ukraine’s volunteer fighters, Fico not only attacked Slovakia’s pro-Ukraine activists but also reinforced his wider conspiracy theory that Western forces were destabilising Slovakia itself. In doing so, he transformed a Russian information operation into an official state narrative, weaponising disinformation to justify repressive measures at home.
A coordinated Russian disinformation campaign targeting the Georgian Legion has evolved into a major propaganda tool, reaching Slovakia’s political leadership. What began as an online smear effort escalated into a full-fledged hybrid warfare operation, with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico amplifying Kremlin-backed narratives.
A Crisis Exploited: How Internal Disorder Became a Propaganda Weapon
In September 2024, an internal crisis within the Georgian Legion, a volunteer military unit fighting for Ukraine, created an opportunity for Russian disinformation operatives. The crisis centred around Reshet, a young Ukrainian responsible for managing the Legion’s social media accounts. Though not a combatant himself, he played a key role in securing financial support and international recognition for the unit. However, after relocating to the United States, his mental health began to deteriorate, leading to erratic behaviour online.
Reshet flooded the Legion’s accounts with incoherent posts, fabricating battlefield operations and launching personal attacks against Ukrainian officers and Western political figures. His descent into paranoia escalated to the point where he ignored repeated orders from the Legion’s leadership to relinquish control over the accounts. What should have remained an internal personnel issue quickly spiralled into a crisis, attracting attention from external actors eager to exploit the turmoil.
As Reshet’s erratic posts circulated online, they provided the perfect opening for a large-scale Russian disinformation campaign. For months, social media was flooded with allegations of corruption, misconduct, and fraud within the Georgian Legion. By the time the Legion’s leadership regained control of their digital presence, the damage had already been done. The narrative had taken on a life of its own, spreading beyond Ukraine and into Western activist and political circles.
The Fabricated Scandal: How Russian Disinformation Took Over the Narrative
On 20 September 2024, the little-known website Ukraine Today published a damning exposé, claiming to have uncovered serious misconduct by the Georgian Legion. The article accused its commander, Mamuka Mamulašvili, of fabricating a poisoning attempt to solicit donations, embezzling funds meant for medical treatment, and collaborating with a convicted fraudster to establish a suspicious NGO in the United States. The most damaging claim, however, was that the Legion did not exist as a real combat unit at all.
Despite being published on an obscure website with no track record of investigative journalism, the article spread at an astonishing pace. Within hours, thousands of Twitter (X) accounts amplified its claims. The speed and scale of this dissemination strongly suggested a coordinated effort. It was an orchestrated disinformation attack.
Further investigation revealed that Ukraine Today was not a legitimate news outlet. It was not registered in any country, and its only known contributor was Jay Beecher, a British national with a history of financial fraud. Previously affiliated with the far-right UK Independence Party (UKIP), from which he had been expelled over allegations of financial misconduct, Beecher had briefly worked for the reputable Kyiv Post before being dismissed. His involvement in this campaign pointed to something far larger than a rogue journalist uncovering a scandal—it bore the hallmarks of a well-planned Russian influence operation.
The goal was clear: to discredit the Georgian Legion, fracture Ukraine’s support network, and plant doubts among Western donors. The campaign followed a familiar pattern—create a plausible but misleading story, push it aggressively through coordinated online networks, and use social media to amplify division and distrust.
This was only the beginning. Within weeks, the disinformation had moved beyond digital spaces and into the political mainstream, finding fertile ground in Slovakia.
How the Disinformation Reached Slovakia and Entered Political Discourse
Initially, the false allegations about the Georgian Legion were confined to the online sphere, mostly circulating within pro-Russian and anti-Ukraine circles. However, they soon gained traction beyond their original ecosystem. One of the first Slovak voices to amplify the allegations was Richard Straka, a researcher affiliated with a think tank focused on disinformation monitoring. His early engagement with the narrative lent it credibility within Slovakia’s information space, making it appear as a legitimate controversy rather than a manufactured smear campaign.
By the time Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico embraced elements of the disinformation campaign, it had already been running for months.. His government, which has increasingly aligned itself with pro-Russian positions, used the allegations against the Georgian Legion as a political tool. By echoing the accusations, Fico and his allies cast doubt on the legitimacy of Slovakia’s pro-Ukraine activists, reinforcing broader anti-Ukrainian sentiment within Slovak society.
This was a textbook example of how Russian hybrid warfare tactics infiltrate European politics. The Kremlin does not need to fabricate falsehoods from nothing—it relies on amplifying existing narratives, nudging them into mainstream discourse through a combination of social media manipulation and strategic political endorsements. Once politicians like Fico adopt the disinformation, it ceases to be a fringe theory and becomes part of official policy debates.
Debunking the Accusations: What the Evidence Shows
As the campaign gained momentum, independent investigations began to dismantle its core allegations. Ukrainian authorities, international journalists, and researchers found no evidence to support the claims.
The fundraiser for Mamulašvili’s medical treatment, for instance, was legitimate, but rather than using the money for personal healthcare, he redirected the funds toward military equipment for the Legion. Financial records confirmed that the amount raised closely matched purchases of FPV drones, which were documented in Ukrainian military procurement logs. The original fundraisers, who were Slovak activists themselves, expressed no suspicion of fraud—only frustration that Mamulašvili had prioritised military needs over his own well-being.
The claim that the Georgian Legion was not a real combat unit also proved to be a distortion. While it does not operate as a single administrative entity, it is fully embedded within multiple divisions of the Ukrainian army. In December 2024, members of the Legion, including Mamulašvili, received formal commendations from the Ukrainian government for their service.
Similarly, the alleged “suspicious NGO” in the United States, the Georgian Humanitarian Legion, was confirmed to exist, but it was largely inactive. While Russian disinformation networks circulated a screenshot purporting to show Mamulašvili and his sister as key figures in the organisation, no verifiable evidence supported this claim. Ukrainian intelligence found no signs of financial misconduct, and US authorities never pursued an investigation into the NGO’s activities.
The Bigger Picture: Russian Disinformation as a Weapon of Hybrid Warfare
The attack on the Georgian Legion followed a clear pattern. Russian disinformation campaigns often target groups or individuals with established reputations, using real but distorted events to create misleading narratives. Social media then serves as an amplifier, drawing in both intentional propagandists and well-meaning but misled individuals.
In this case, the objective was to discredit not just the Georgian Legion, but broader Western support for Ukraine. By planting doubts about the integrity of pro-Ukrainian military formations and fundraising efforts, the campaign sought to weaken the trust of donors and policymakers.
The case also highlights how easily Russian narratives penetrate mainstream politics. When Robert Fico’s government echoed the disinformation campaign’s themes, it demonstrated the extent to which Russian influence has permeated Slovak political discourse. This was not merely an attack on the Georgian Legion but a broader effort to undermine European support for Ukraine.
As the war in Ukraine continues, the case of the Georgian Legion serves as a reminder of the power of information warfare. Falsehoods, once legitimised by political figures, become difficult to dislodge, and their impact extends far beyond their original targets.
Source: Tomáš Forró | Denník N
