Is This The Man That Downed MH17?

As the investigation into what happened to Malaysia Air Flight 17 continues, one name keeps popping up. Igor Girkin, who also goes by Igor Strelkov, is the self-proclaimed Defense Minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic. The DPR, like Girkin, is also self-proclaimed and located in an area of eastern Ukraine occupied by pro-Russian separatists.

While Aleksandr Borodai, who appointed himself to Prime Minister of the DPR, denied involvement, Girkin claimed credit for the attack 15 minutes after Malaysia Airlines reported they lost contact with MH17.

“In the region of Torez AN-26 plane has been shot, it is somewhere near the ‘Progress’ mine. We have warned them – not to fly ‘in our sky’” Girkin posted on VK.com, the Russian equivalent of Facebook.

Girkin later posted, “Here is video-proof of yet another ‘bird fall’. The bird has fallen behind the terricone, it missed the residential quarters. Peaceful citizens were not hurt. There is also information on the second shot plane, ‘Su’ as it seems.”

Both posts have since been removed. Mention of “Su” presumably refers to the Ukrainian Air Force Su-25 plane that was shot down by a Russian fighter early Thursday while traveling over eastern Ukraine.

Borodai maintained that the DPR didn’t have weapons in their possession capable of knocking aircrafts out of the sky at the altitude MH17 was flying at. His comment, however, contradicts a picture posted to the DPR’s Twitter last month depicting a Buk missile system. Representatives of the DPR shared the picture on June 29 along with a claim that they had taken over a Ukrainian military base.

Girkin reportedly met Borodai in the 1990s, when both were working at the right-wing Russian newspaper, Zavtra. He is a Russian citizen who was born in Moscow and served in the country’s Federal Security Service until March 2013, according to the New York Times.

The European Union added him to their sanctions list on April 29 and described him as a member of Russia’s GRU, the military intelligence service of the Russian Federation. Although unconfirmed, it is believed Girkin worked as a security aid for Sergei Aksyonov, who declared himself the leader of Crimea in late February.

An expert on Russian security services, Mark Galeotti at New York University, described Girkin as “almost a caricature of the Putin era,” citing his militaristic mindset and desire to reestablish a czarist empire.

Girkin, who is described by his apartment neighbors as “polite” and “quiet,” has an ex-wife and children still living in Moscow. He enjoys military role-playing and reenactments, and has been described as “a Russian civil war romantic.” Those serving beneath him, know him as “Strelok” or “the Shooter.”

[Photo: AFP / VK.com]