Georgian Fighter in Ukraine Detained in Armenia on Russian Extradition Request
By Liza Mchedlidze
Tuesday, September 9, 2025
Giorgi Kinoyan, a Georgian volunteer who fought against Russia in Ukraine, has been arrested in Armenia and placed in 40 days of extradition detention, raising concerns about his possible handover to Moscow.
His friend, Salome Murjikneli, told reporters that Kinoyan was detained while traveling with family and friends on September 3.
"We learned about his arrest at around 1:00 p.m. He himself wrote to me that he was being detained while he still had his phone," she said.
Later that day, Murjikneli added, Kinoyan phoned again to say he had been officially taken into custody.
A Yerevan court ordered his detention on September 6. The move follows a ruling issued on October 25, 2024, by a so-called court in occupied Donetsk, which sentenced Kinoyan to seven years in prison. Russia has since demanded his extradition based on that decision.
"Armenia must notify Russia when a person like Giorgi - that is, someone wanted by Russia - crosses its border," Murjikneli explained, stressing that Moscow is behind the request.
The Armenian Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed that Kinoyan was stopped at the Gogavan border crossing, near Sadakhlo, on September 3. "The Prosecutor General's Office, the Ministry of Justice and the person who filed the request have been informed about this," the agency said, without providing further details.
Meanwhile, Georgia's Foreign Ministry said it has not yet received official notification from Armenian authorities. "The Georgian Embassy in Armenia was informed about this by the family members of the detainee, however, the embassy has not received any notification from the official Armenian agencies to date. The consulate is working on this issue within its competence," the ministry stated.
