'MH17 perpetrator Igor Girkin arrested by Russian services'
Modified: 14 min ago 30 minutes ago
abroad _

MOSCOW - Igor Girkin has been arrested by the Russian authorities, according to his wife. This is confirmed by his lawyer. It is still unclear why he would be detained. Girkin, also known as Igor Strelkov, was involved in the 2014 annexation of Crimea, the subsequent uprising in eastern Ukraine and the downing of flight MH17. Lately he has been critical of the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The former intelligence officer is wanted internationally for involvement in the downing of MH17. He was sentenced to life in prison in November for the murder of 298 people on the plane. The judge considered him ultimately responsible as the highest-ranking soldier there.