The lawyer admitted that Strelkov had the opportunity to go to the Northern Military District

The lawyer of the former Minister of Defense of the DPR and ex-FSB officer Igor Strelkov (Girkin), Alexander Molokhov, admitted that his client, sentenced to four years in prison under the article on calls for extremist activities, will volunteer for the zone of military operation on the territory of Ukraine.

“Igor Ivanovich, when the North Military District began, repeatedly said that he wanted to go to the front. Another thing is that such conditions were created for him – provocative, insulting – that he could not get to the front. I do not rule out that as a result of these events, common sense will prevail and the military man will be given the opportunity to act as he sees fit. Namely, to counteract the enemy, Ukraine, which, as he believes, should disappear,” said Mr. Molokhov in interview to Polish journalist Mateusz Piskorski in the YouTube channel “Despite Censorship.”

In December 2022 Strelkov stated in his Telegram channel that in October he tried to volunteer to join the armed forces of the DPR to participate in hostilities, but he had problems with official registration of his status in the formation. In his opinion, he was never enrolled in the regiment “under pressure from above.” Strelkov wrote that this was his third unsuccessful attempt to take part in the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

January 25, 2024 Moscow City Court sentenced Igor Strelkov to four years in a general regime colony in the case of public calls for extremism (Part 2 of Article 280 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The court also banned him from administering Internet sites and publishing his messages online for three years. Lawyers said they would appeal the verdict as “illegal and unfair.”

Igor Strelkov was arrested on July 21, 2023. According to him, the basis for the criminal case was two posts on Telegram about the surrender of Crimea to Ukraine and problems with the military’s allowance. Strelkov did not admit guilt. He will be able to apply for parole only after six months.

Read more about the case in the Kommersant article. “Igor Strelkov was disconnected from the network”.

Erdni Kagaltynov