Former Donetsk militant leader Girkin-Strelkov detained on tip-off of former Wagner mercenary
Russian media report that security forces have detained an active supporter of the war against Ukraine, Igor Strelkov (real surname Girkin), who became known after 2014.
Source: RBC and wife of Strelkov on his Telegram channel
Details: On Friday, 21 July, law enforcement officers detained Igor Strelkov; two law enforcement sources told RBC, and Strelkov's lawyer confirmed.
It is reported that the security forces took Strelkov out of the house around noon. The employees of the Investigative Committee are conducting a search of his apartment.
Preliminary reports indicate that the detention was carried out at the request of a former mercenary of the Wagner Group.
According to the information from another RBC source in law enforcement agencies, it’s the FSB who is conducting the investigation, not the Investigative Committee.
A message from his wife, Miroslava Reginskaya, appeared on Strelkov's Telegram. She said that she was not at home when representatives of the Investigative Committee arrived there. According to the concierge, Strelkov was led out of the house under his arms.
Quote from Strelkov's wife: "I managed to find out from my friends that my husband was charged under Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code (extremism)".
Details: On 20 July, Strelkov wrote on his Telegram channel that the Wagner mercenaries had nothing to boast about: losses in the war against Ukraine were "3/4 of the personnel (22 out of 78,000 killed and 40,000 wounded)".
"Commanders should be dismissed to the ordinary soldiers for such 'Pyrrhic victories' (which have no strategic significance). Complete professional failure," he was outraged.
On 18 July, Strelkov insulted Vladimir Putin on his Telegram channel, writing that "for 23 years, the country was led by a lowlife who managed to "throw dust in the eyes" of a large part of the population, and although he is now "the last island of legitimacy and stability of the state", "the country will not survive another six years of this cowardly incompetent's rule".
According to Strelkov, Putin should "ensure the transfer of power to someone truly capable and responsible".
For reference: Igor Girkin-"Strelkov" is a former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer who actively participated in the battles for Sloviansk and the seizure of power in Donetsk in 2014. He strongly supports the war but criticises the military and political leadership. On 1 April 2023, Girkin-Strelkov, Pavel Gubarev and Maxim Kalashnikov created the Club of Angry Patriots.
On 18 July, the telegram channel Ostorozhno, Novosti (Watch out, news) reported that Russia had accused Strelkov's associate, retired Colonel Vladimir Kvachkov, who also actively supports the war in Ukraine but criticises the current Russian government and the leadership of the Ministry of Defence, of discrediting the Russian army.
Strelkov called the case against Kvachkov "a mockery of law, justice and common sense" against the backdrop of the fact that, after the mutiny of Yevgeny Prigozhin, no one has been held accountable for the murder of Russian pilots by Wagnerites.
Strelkov himself was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment by the District Court of The Hague. He was found guilty of the downing of the Malaysian Boeing in August 2014. The court stated that Igor Girkin and two of his subordinates were "guilty of murder 298 times".
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