UK intelligence analyses conviction of former FSB officer Girkin in Russia

UK Intelligence has analysed Russia's sentencing of Igor Girkin, a terrorist and a former FSB officer, who has been recently convicted to four years in prison for "publicly inciting extremist activity".

Source: UK Defence Intelligence review dated 26 January on Twitter, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The UK MoD noted that Girkin was arrested in Russia in July 2023 after the mutiny led by Wagner Group's deceased leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

UK Defence Intelligence added that Girkin criticised the Russian leadership and the course of the aggressive war against Ukraine.

UK analysts reported that after Prigozhin's mutiny, the Kremlin became more sensitive to criticism of its war by hard-line nationalists "as they are one of the few credible alternatives to Putin's leadership".

"Girkin’s sentencing is part of a broader crackdown on those critical of the Kremlin and the war in Ukraine, reflecting the more authoritarian nature of life in Putin’s Russia," the review said.

Igor Girkin (Strelkov) is one of Russia's most notorious terrorists. A Dutch court sentenced Girkin to life imprisonment in absentia in 2022, finding him guilty in the case of the downing of flight MH17 in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast in July 2014.

Background:

• In a previous review, UK intelligence analysed the causes of heating problems in Russian settlements.
• Prior to that, the UK MoD outlined new measures being considered by the Russian Federation against those who actively criticise Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

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