Logo

Human Rights

MH17: Ukraine crowdfunds $100K bounty for separatist leader who shot down Malaysian airliner

He is suspected of involvement in the 2014 downing of a Malaysian civilian airliner over Ukraine with 298 people on board.

Inspectores visitan el lugar donde se estrelló el Boeing-777 de Malaysia Airlines, vuelo MH17, cerca de la localidad de Hrabovo.
Inspectores visitan el lugar donde se estrelló el Boeing-777 de Malaysia Airlines, vuelo MH17, cerca de la localidad de Hrabovo. | Shutterstock
By Joshua Shin

October 20, 2022 10:37pm

Updated: February 19, 2023 10:41am

Ukrainians have crowdfunded a $100,000 bounty for Igor Girkin, an eccentric Russian military leader who in 2014 led separatists in Donetsk and bragged about downing MH17, a Malaysian passenger airliner over Ukraine.

Serhii Sternenko, a Ukrainian blogger and activists, offered the first $10,000 on Oct. 15 after Girkin confirmed on his Telegram that he had returned to the military since Oct. 14, 2022, reports VICE News.

His wife had posted a picture of him in his military uniform after his followers asked why he had been offline for the last few days.

“To answer the question, where is Igor Ivanovich,” she said in the post, using one of Girkin’s many pseudonyms. “All is well! Be in touch soon.”

In 2014, Girkin appeared in Ukraine as the leader of an insurgent for called the Donetsk People’s Republic and consolidated power in the region with brutality and extrajudicial killings, according to VICE. He operated under the name Igor Strelkov because Moscow was trying to portray separatists in eastern Ukraine as grassroots movements.

He has also suspected of involvement in the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH-17, a civilian airliner that was hit by a Russian surface-to-air missile over Donetsk, because of how he bragged about shooting down a “Ukrainian plane” on social media shortly after it went down. All 298 people on board died.  

Other Ukrainian figures, like tennis star Sergiy Stakhovsky and regional governor Serhiy Hayday, quickly offered to pitch into Strenenko’s bounty fund - $40,000 and $10,000, respectively. 

Then on Oct. 16, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Agency posted a wanted poster for Girkin on social media, called him a terrorist and offered $100,000 for his capture.

Besides his military exploits and alleged war crimes, Girkin is a prolific blogger, media personality and historical cosplayer. His background is unknown but analysts believe he works for one of Russia’s intelligence agencies.

Related Articles

The latest