Russian police on Friday arrested Igor Girkin (also known as Strelkov), a former colonel in the Russian intelligence services and now a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin, whom they accuse of a “failure” in his war against Ukraine, Moscow-based RBC reported and was quoted by Bloomberg.
RBC quoted sources from the Russian security authorities.
Girkin commanded pro-Russian-allied separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014, and was convicted in absentia by a Dutch court for his alleged role in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 by separatists with anti-aircraft weapons the same year.
However, his detention is not related to his conviction in the Netherlands but, as his wife stated in her Telegram message, on charges of “extremism”.
The 53-year-old Girkin Strelkov declares himself a “Russian nationalist” and is wanted by Ukraine as a terrorist. He is under sanctions by the US, UK, EU, Australia, Canada, Japan and Switzerland for his role in starting the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Through his publications and television interviews, mostly online, he has fervently called for Russia’s war against Ukraine, while accusing Russia’s armed forces of “incompetence”.
He co-founded the “Furious Patriots Club,” which advocates for Putin and the Russian government to take a tougher stance on winning the war.
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