Girkin’s arrest may point to shift in power balance between “Kremlin towers” - ISW

The arrest of former Russian officer and ardent ultranationalist Igor Girkin aka Strelkov on July 21 may be the public manifestation of a shifting balance of power among Kremlin factions.

This was reported by the Institute for the Study of War in its latest update, seen by Ukrinform.

This could possibly be “to the detriment of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), in which Girkin had served,” the report notes.

Court documents show that Russian authorities opened a case against Girkin on July 18 - the day on which Girkin published several harsh critiques of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Analysts note that Girkin had been consistently criticizing Putin prior to July 18, however, but his past criticisms had not triggered an arrest.

Some sources claimed that Girkin’s arrest followed his conflict with a fellow member of the Angry Patriots Club he leads about the Wagner Group.

Other sources speculated that Wagner complaints about Girkin may have triggered his arrest.

One source claimed that the arrest is related to Russian authorities targeting Russian “patriots” deemed disloyal to Putin.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, a court in Moscow ruled to remand Girkin in custody for two months.

Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Girkin allowed himself frequent acts of public criticism targeting Russian military efforts. In his previous media appearances, Girkin boasted that it was due to his unit’s resolute action that the war actually started as he ordered his men to cross into the Ukrainian territory in 2014 and engage Ukrainian forces as Russia was fueling public unrest in Donbas.

Russia had been consistently denying direct military involvement in Donbas hostilities since 2014 claiming it was local "separatists" who stood up against the government in Kyiv - that's despite multiple evidence proving Russia's critical role.