Russia sentences former separatist commander to four years in prison

A Moscow court has sentenced Igor Strelkov (whose legal name is Igor Girkin), a pro-war blogger and former commander of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, to four years in prison on extremism charges.

The court also banned Strelkov from administering websites for three years, Meduza reports.

Prosecutors requested Strelkov be sentenced to four years and 11 months, one month less than the maximum legal sentence for his charges.

The case against Strelkov was launched in July 2023 over two Telegram posts in which he lambasted Russian military leaders in Crimea. Strelkov is a strong supporter of the invasion of Ukraine but has repeatedly criticized Russia’s war strategy as well as Vladimir Putin himself.

In 2022, a Dutch court convicted Strelkov in absentia for his role in orchestrating the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 and killing the 298 people on board.