Russian nationalist who criticizes former Kremlin secret service agent Vladimir Putin, war crimesmonarchist and veteran of the fronts Chechnya, bosnian Y Moldova. this is how it is Igor GirkinAlso known as ‘Strelkov‘, ” swordsman” Russian. This former FSB member – like the president of Russia – was one of the most prominent pro-Russian military leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics”. The Ukrainian government is now presenting an award. $100,000 for him. He set the price after announcing that he would return to the front last Saturday. Kyiv is looking for him as one of the main suspects in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines plane MH17, which killed 298 civilians traveling on a Boeing 77 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. annexation of Crimea by Russia and the war donbas.
His return to the battlefield has recently been confirmed, especially Deputy Commander a volunteer battalion in Ukraine. Already having fighting experience in the Donbas, he did so at the start of the Ukrainian civil conflict, along with other names such as ‘Motorola’ (Arsen Pavlov) and ‘Givi’ (Mijaíl Tolstij), who died twice. bombings. ‘Strelkov’ and these two militia so on the battlefield They pulled the strings of the conflict in the pro-Russian regions.
Its activity in Ukraine started in 2014 in Crimea. There, ‘Strelkov’ was part of those baptized as the “self-defense commanders” of the region. He explained himself in interviews that it was necessary because of it. little support for annexation Between the security forces and regional authorities of the Crimean peninsula. He also admitted to being part of the military. forced local politicians to vote (for) the annexation referendum to Russia.
Consolidation in Donbas
He was one of those who encouraged the creation of Ukraine, when the war in eastern Ukraine had not yet begun. first militia Donetsk and Luhansk Self-Defense Forces. He even explained that he led the first battle of the war that would start the conflict. He explained in the newspaper Zavtra that “at the beginning” he did not want to fight. “Both sides wanted to convince each other. We were wary of the use of weapons in Slaviansk. very carefulUntil the Ukrainian security services wanted to evacuate them, “a frontal collisionThey weren’t prepared for them.”suffered losses And they left,” he said.
After the first wars he strongest men In the region, it has become a consolidated reality that the “popular republics” began to control most of their military forces. Minister of Defense of Donetsk. During his stay in eastern Ukraine, “NovorosiaIt is a political project that wants to create. satellite state of Russia In the southern and eastern provinces of Ukraine, justifying that they were historically part of the Russian Empire. After a while, this attempt was rejected, and he decided to start the project in 2015 as “a monumental error“and this territory remained in two unrecognized states, which Russia later claimed for itself in 2022.
Criticism of the Russian leadership
Patriotism did not prevent him from openly criticizing. both the president of russia as buttons currently leading the Kremlin troops in Ukraine. In an interview he gave to Efe news agency in 2019, he assured: “Putin can be a hero national and descend to future generations. I never thought it was like this wide and what could i give irreversible steps and then try to brake downhill”. War between Russia and Ukraine over Donbas was “inevitable”. In addition, he “assured that Putin is not the type to do this. admit your own mistakes“.
This 2022 became an ‘influencer’ after the start of the Russian offensive against Ukraine and started using different platforms like Telegram or YouTube. He positioned himself not against conflict, but against its development. He even went so far as to accuse the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of “criminal negligence”, and even said that.hang” Putin for planning errors. Before September 21, when partial mobilization was announced, he had spoken in favor of a total mobilization of Russian citizens. One of his most shared messages at the beginning of the conflict was: “I think we will be involved in a war. bloody conflict prolonged, tiring and extremely dangerous for the Russian Federation”.