Georgian soldiers leave Afghanistan

By Khatia Bzhalava

Tuesday, June 22

After joining the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in 2014, Georgia became the largest non-NATO member contributor with 860 soldiers.

The decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan was made in April 2021.

Georgian soldiers are leaving Afghanistan as the US and NATO have decided to withdraw Resolute Support forces from the country after two decades of war. RSM aimed to provide further training, advice and assistance for the Afghan security forces and institutions.

As the Georgian Defence Ministry reported, the 32nd Infantry Battalion of the Georgian Defence Forces is returning to Georgia gradually. The soldiers of the first part of the battalion who have already arrived in Georgia were greeted by the Chief of Georgian Defense Forces major general Giorgi Matitashvili and Chief of the Western Command, Brigadier General Koba Grigolia. They thanked the soldiers for their contribution to global security and congratulated them on the safe return to their homeland. According to the Minister of Defense, the 32nd battalion was carrying out missions at Bagram Airfield (BAF), the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan, for six months.

In April 2021, the allies decided to start withdrawing troops by May. The Resolute Support mission (RSM) in Afghanistan was launched in 2015 and involved more than 16,000 personnel from nearly 40 NATO member and partner countries. Georgia has been part of the NATO-led mission since 2004 and became the largest non-NATO member contributor with 860 soldiers in total. Thirty-two Georgian soldiers have been killed and many injured since the beginning of the RSM.