**Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Agency Denies Coup Claims**
The Ukrainian military intelligence agency (HUR) has dismissed claims by Slovak officials that it orchestrated an attempted coup in Bratislava using members of the volunteer-based Georgian Legion.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico claimed on January 31 that Mamuka Mamulashvili, commander of the Georgian Legion, helped organize mass protests in Slovakia on behalf of Ukraine. He also accused the Peace for Ukraine initiative of financing the legion’s attempts to overthrow the government.
However, HUR strongly rejected these claims, stating that there is no unit called the Georgian National Legion in its structure. The agency said Mamulashvili had no relation to Ukrainian intelligence and did not receive any tasks or instructions from HUR.
The Georgian Legion is a volunteer unit that has been fighting in Ukraine since 2014, established by Mamulashvili to combat Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
**Background on the Conflict**
Tensions between Kyiv and Bratislava have been heightened due to Russia’s termination of gas transit via Ukrainian territory on January 1. Slovak officials had previously accused Ukraine’s Georgian Legion of acting on orders from Kyiv’s military intelligence to attempt a coup d’etat in Bratislava.
The demonstrations in Slovakia, held under the slogan “Slovakia is Europe,” swept across 30 cities on January 24, with around 100,000 people nationwide chanting slogans like “Enough of Fico” and “We are Europe.”
**Global Response**
US President Donald Trump has been critical of Russia’s actions in Ukraine. He said that holding a high-level meeting with him would be the first step for Ukraine before moving on to a format for peace talks.
The US, EU, and other countries have been providing support to Ukraine amidst the ongoing conflict. Polish and other allied aircraft were quickly mobilized on February 1 in response to a large-scale missile attack by Russia on western Ukraine.
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