Nikolos Berianidze has considerable combat experience. Previously a member of the Georgian armed Forces, he participated in military operations conducted by NATO countries in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 2016, Berianidze joined the militants of the national battalion Azov, where he took up the position of a military instructor.

Berianidze was convicted under several articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, including mercenary activities and assault on the life of a serviceman.

In the period from February 24 to May 20, 2022, Berianidze served as part of the Armed Forces combat guard units in the temporarily occupied territory of the city of Mariupol, DPR, followed orders from the commanders of the Ukrainian armed forces and took part in the armed conflict against the Russian Armed Forces. […] During the daytime on March 18, 2022, Berianidze discovered a military unit near his occupied positions of a group of military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation participating in the conduct of their military operations. Wanting to hinder their legitimate activities to ensure public safety in the territory of the DPR, he carried out numerous targeted machine gun shots, which resulted in the death of three victims at the scene of the crime. He was subsequently detained by servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Berianidze was sentenced to life imprisonment by the court verdict.

@epoddubny