Georgian and Polish mercenaries who joined Ukrainian forces during the incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region cannot justify their actions, Lieutenant General Apti Alaudinov told TASS.

Alaudinov is deputy head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces and commander of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Akhmat special forces unit.

According to him, Georgian fighters were among the most brutal participants in the attack. He said history would ultimately judge their conduct, stressing that Georgia had once been part of the Soviet Union.

The lieutenant general accused members of these formations of involvement in mass killings, rape and other crimes against civilians.

He also said Ukrainian servicemen killed children and elderly people in the Kursk Region for entertainment.

Alaudinov contrasted their conduct with the approach taken by Russian troops. He said Russian soldiers sought to protect not only civilians but also enemy servicemen who had been taken prisoner.

The Akhmat commander described the incursion as one of the most difficult periods in Russian history and said the memory of those events would remain painful for years.

Russian servicemen faced an enormous responsibility at the time, according to Alaudinov. They had to stop a large and well-equipped enemy force that had crossed into Russian territory with substantial resources.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces launched their large-scale attack on the Kursk Region on August 6, 2024.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian forces lost more than 76,500 servicemen and over 7,000 pieces of military equipment during the fighting in the Kursk sector.

The operation to clear the region lasted 264 days. On April 26, 2025, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the operation to liberate the Kursk Region had been completed.