Nervousness in the Kremlin? The sharp-tongued ultra-nationalist and pro-war Igor Girkin is apparently arrested in Moscow. And Putin’s reaction to a troop deployment in Poland is thin-skinned.
The Kremlin is stepping up the pace against internal critics. Now it hit the Russian ex-secret service officer and ultra-nationalist Igor Girkin, who, according to his wife, was arrested in Moscow. Girkin is seen as a clear supporter of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, but he has increasingly criticized Russia’s conduct of the war, not even stopping at President Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile, Russia’s head of state threatened Poland because of the deployment of troops in the direction of neighboring Belarus. Warsaw had previously announced that it wanted to move an as yet unknown number of its own soldiers to the east of the country because of the presence of Russian Wagner mercenaries in neighboring Belarus.
According to estimates by British military experts, the Wagner troops are likely to release the last of their fighters recruited from prisoners in the coming days. According to the British, up to 20,000 of the approximately 40,000 ex-convicts recruited in prisons for the mercenary force died in Ukraine.
allegations of extremism
The Russian ultra-nationalist Girkin, also known by the pseudonym Igor Strelkov, has been accused of extremism, his wife Miroslava Reginskaya said on Girkin’s Telegram channel. Officials from the investigative committee took him away. Nothing is known about his whereabouts.
Girkin led the 2014 Kremlin-led separatist uprising in Ukraine’s Donbass region. He has an international arrest warrant for his part in the 2014 downing of the MH17 passenger plane over Donbass.
He accused the military leadership in Moscow of incompetence and corruption and called for even tougher and more ruthless action in Ukraine. Initially he criticized chief of staff Valeri Gerasimov and defense minister Sergei Shoigu, but most recently his accusations have increasingly been directed at President Vladimir Putin, whom he accused of inaction.
Putin threatens Warsaw
The Russian leader, meanwhile, issued threats against Warsaw over the movement of troops towards the border with neighboring Belarus. “Belarus is part of the Union State. And unleashing aggression against Belarus would mean aggression against the Russian Federation. We will respond to this with all means at our disposal,” Putin said at a meeting of the National Security Council.
The government of the NATO and EU state Poland had previously announced that it wanted to move an as yet unknown number of its own soldiers to the east of the country because of the presence of Russian Wagner mercenaries in neighboring Belarus. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said of the concerns in Poland during a visit to Prague: “Wherever our Polish friends need support, they will get it if the worst comes to the worst.”
Russia wants to draft older conscripts
Russia also wants to raise the maximum draft age by three years. In future, men up to the age of 30 should be able to be drafted into the army, announced the chairman of the Duma’s Defense Committee, Andrei Kartapolov, in Moscow. So far, the maximum age is 27 years.
The minimum age, however, should remain at 18 years, as reported by the state agency Interfax, citing Kartapolov. In the meantime it had been announced that it should be increased to 21 years. According to media reports, the new regulation will apply from next spring. Parliament still has to agree.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had already announced changes at the end of last year. Observers explained this with the planned increase in the armed forces from the current 1.15 to 1.5 million soldiers. At the same time, independent media pointed out that the new army regulations could bring in hundreds of thousands of additional conscripts. The maximum age for calling up reservists was recently raised from 50 to 55.
London: Killed 20,000 ex-cons recruited by Wagner
According to estimates by British military experts, up to 20,000 of the fighters recruited from Russian prisons by the Wagner mercenary force for the war of aggression in Ukraine were killed within a few months. This emerged from the intelligence report from the Ministry of Defense in London on the war in Ukraine. Accordingly, at least 40,000 men were recruited in the recruitment program known as “Project K”.
The last ex-prisoners would probably end their compulsory service with Wagner for release from prison in the coming days, it was said. According to British estimates, a significant number of the convicts who have now been pardoned are likely to remain in the service of the mercenary force. The prison recruitment program is now being continued by the Russian army.
Zelenskyi recalls ambassador to London
Shortly after a critical statement about President Volodymr Zelenskyj, the Ukrainian ambassador to Great Britain, Vadym Prystajko, was recalled from his post. Selenskyj had the corresponding decree published on his website in Kiev without further explanation. Just under a week ago, the ambassador accused his head of state of “unhealthy sarcasm” on British television. Prystajko was posted in London for three years. Before that he was Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace had previously called on Kiev to show more gratitude for the aid it has provided in the war against Russia. Selenskyj then asked at a press conference what exactly the British minister wanted. “Let him write to me. We can thank the minister personally when we wake up every morning,” he said. Prystajko had criticized this exchange of blows as counterproductive. Great Britain is one of Ukraine’s most important partner countries.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
