Russian hard-line nationalist to stay in prison after accusing Putin of weakness

Igor Girkin also know as Igor Strelkov, the former military chief for Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, sits in a glass cage in a courtroom at the Moscow’s City Court (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP/PA)

A Moscow court has ruled that a prominent hard-line nationalist who accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of weakness and indecision in Ukraine should remain in prison on charges of extremism.

Igor Strelkov, a retired security officer who led Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and was convicted of murder in the Netherlands for his role in the downing of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet that year, has argued that a total mobilisation is needed for Russia to achieve victory.