Igor Girkin in the context of "War in Donbas (2014–2022)"

⭐ In the context of the War in Donbas, Igor Girkin is considered significant for his role in which early event?

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Igor Girkin

Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin (Russian: И́горь Все́володович Ги́ркин, IPA: [ˈiɡərʲ ˈfsʲevələdəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡʲirkʲɪn]; born 17 December 1970), also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov (Russian: И́горь Ива́нович Стрелко́в, IPA: [ˈiɡərʲ ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ strʲɪlˈkof]), is a Russian army veteran and former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer who played a key role in the Russian annexation of Crimea, and then in the Donbas War as an organizer of militant groups in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). In 2024 he was convicted on charges of inciting extremism. Earlier he received a life sentence in absentia in the Netherlands for his role in downing the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

Girkin admitted responsibility for sparking the Donbas War in eastern Ukraine when, in April 2014, he led a group of armed Russian militants who seized Sloviansk. His role in the siege gained him influence and attention, and he was appointed to the position of Minister of Defense in the Donetsk People's Republic, a puppet state of Russia. Girkin was charged with terrorism by Ukrainian authorities. He has also been sanctioned by the European Union, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Canada and Switzerland for his leading role in the war in eastern Ukraine.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<

👉 Igor Girkin in the context of War in Donbas (2014–2022)

The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian war in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war began in April 2014, when Russian paramilitaries seized several towns. Ukraine's military launched an operation against them, but failed to fully retake the territory. Covertly, Russia's military were directly involved, and the separatists were largely under Russian control. The war continued until it was subsumed by the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In March 2014, following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia occupied Crimea. Anti-revolution and pro-Russian protests began in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, collectively 'the Donbas'. On 12 April, a commando unit led by Russian citizen Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin seized Sloviansk and other settlements in the Donbas. Separatists declared the Donetsk and Luhansk republics (DPR and LPR) as independent states. Russia covertly supported them with troops and weaponry. It only admitted sending "military specialists", but later acknowledged the separatists as Russian combat veterans. On 15 April, Ukraine began an "Anti-Terrorist Operation" (ATO). By August 2014, Ukraine had re-taken most of its territory. Russia responded by covertly sending troops, tanks and artillery into the Donbas, helping pro-Russian forces regain much of what they had lost. DPR leader Alexander Borodai said 50,000 Russian citizens had fought for the separatists by mid 2015, excluding the regular Russian troops that invaded.

↓ Explore More Topics
In this Dossier

Igor Girkin in the context of Siege of Sloviansk

The siege of Sloviansk was conducted by Ukraine between 12 April 2014 and 5 July 2014. It began when Sloviansk was seized by the fifty-strong unit of heavily armed Russian militants lead by Russian citizen Igor Girkin. Following three months of heavy fighting between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the separatist and Russian forces, the Ukrainian government retook the city as the pro-Russia rebels retreated to Donetsk. The engagement in Sloviansk marked the first military engagement of the War in Donbas.

On 12 April 2014, as unrest grew in eastern Ukraine following the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, masked men in fatigues, armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, took over the town and began to fortify it. They claimed to be local fighters of the Donetsk People's Republic, but were actually Russian Armed Forces 'volunteers' under the command of Russian GRU colonel Igor Girkin ('Strelkov'). In response, the Ukrainian Yatsenyuk Government created the first Anti-Terrorist Operations zone (ATO) and launched a series of counter-offensives against the insurgents, resulting in a standoff and violent skirmishes. Girkin later acknowledged that his men's seizure of Sloviansk sparked what would become the Donbas War.

↑ Return to Menu

Igor Girkin in the context of Alexander Borodai

Alexander Yurevich Borodai (Russian: Алекса́ндр Ю́рьевич Борода́й, IPA: [ɐlʲɪkˈsandr ˈjʉrʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bərɐˈdaj]; Ukrainian: Олександр Юрійович Бородай, romanized: Oleksandr Yuriiovych Borodai; born 25 July 1972) is a Russian member of the State Duma of the 8th convocation for the party United Russia. Borodai was Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in 2014 following its declaration of independence from Ukraine on 12 May 2014. Borodai was appointed as prime minister by the republic's Supreme Council on 14 May 2014. Borodai, a Russian citizen, had earlier worked as a political adviser to Sergey Aksyonov, the prime minister of the Republic of Crimea. On 7 August 2014, Borodai announced his resignation. He was succeeded by Alexander Zakharchenko; under Zakharchenko, Borodai became deputy prime minister.

In an interview to Novaya Gazeta Borodai acknowledged that he has known Igor Girkin since after the war in Transnistria.

↑ Return to Menu
LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← War in Donbas (2014–2022) ← War in Donbas ← Donbas war ← Siege of Sloviansk ← Alexander Borodai
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Federal Security Service → Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation → War in Donbas (2014–2022) → Donetsk People's Republic → Trial in absentia → The Netherlands → Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 → Siege of Sloviansk → Russia →