Piet Ploeg felt a glimmer of hope that justice would, at last, be served when he read the news that the prominent Russian nationalist Igor Girkin may be returning to the battlefield in Ukraine.
Ploeg’s brother, sister-in-law and nephew were killed alongside 295 other passengers and crew when the plane they boarded in Amsterdam on 17 July 2014 was shot down over Ukraine’s separatist-held territory of Donetsk by what international investigators believe was a Russian-made surface-to-air missile.
Dutch prosecutors say Girkin, who was a commander of the Kremlin-backed separatist forces during Vladimir Putin’s first invasion of Ukraine in 2014, helped supply the missile system used to shoot down the plane.
“We have to be realistic. The chances aren’t huge that Holland will get him. Ukraine first needs to capture him alive and then hand him over to us,” said Ploeg, who chairs the MH17 Disaster Foundation, a Dutch organisation that helps relatives of those killed in the downing of the flight.
“But it would be amazing if he can face the justice he deserves in court. Miracles do happen in this world,” he said.
The Dutch court is due to hand down its MH17 verdict on Girkin and three other defendants, who are all at large, on 17 November.
Girkin, who goes by the nom de guerre Igor Strelkov, has previously said he felt “a moral responsibility” for the deaths of the 298 people onboard the plane, but refused to admit to downing the passenger jet.
Speculations first arose that Girkin was bound for Ukraine following several days of silence on his Telegram channel.
Since the start of Russia’s invasion, Girkin emerged as arguably the most prominent voice within a group of ultranationalist and pro-war bloggers who have taken to berating the Kremlin for its military failures in Ukraine, amassing more than 750,000 followers on the messaging app.
Last Saturday, his wife, Myroslava Reginska, shared a photo on Girkin’s Telegram channel showing him in military fatigues.
“To answer the question, where is Igor Ivanovich,” she wrote, using his patronymic, “All is well! Will be in touch soon.”
And on Tuesday, Girkin posted a short message saying “Since October 14, 2022, I am in the active army.”
Ukrainians have since launched a crowdfunding campaign for his capture that has raised more than $150,000 (£135,000). Donors include local politicians and professional athletes.
Kyiv’s eagerness to capture Girkin, who once bragged that he had “pulled the trigger of war” in Ukraine, partly stems from the mounting evidence that he was guilty of war crimes during his time as a commander of Kremlin-backed separatist forces in 2014.
According to an investigation by Radio Free Europe, Girkin was responsible for ordering the executions by firing squad of at least three men in eastern Ukraine. In several interviews Girkin himself admitted to ordering the executions, saying he killed one of the men himself.
However, it remains to be seen whether Russia will allow the bellicose former commander to participate in the fighting.
On Wednesday, a picture was posted on social media of a man in military uniform who closely resembles Girkin. The Guardian has not confirmed the authenticity of the photo, but a group of activists on Twitter geolocated the image, claiming it was taken near the Russian city of Rostov, which borders Ukraine.
Readovka, a pro-Kremlin news site with ties to security services, claimed on Wednesday that Girkin was facing some resistance from the Russian military, who have reportedly pushed against his enlistment. “But he isn’t giving up … He is doing everything to go the front,” Readovka said.
In the event that Ukraine did capture Girkin, the Netherlands would be pushing for his extradition, said Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, a senior Dutch MP for the centre-left Democrats 66 party.
“When I heard about Ukraine’s crowdfunding campaign, I asked our government to double the money raised,” Sjoerdsma said.
The Netherlands will want to prevent a repeat of 2019, when Ukraine included Volodymyr Tsemakh, another suspect in the shooting down of MH17, in a major prisoner swap with Russia, placing him out of the reach of Dutch prosecutors.
“Ukraine has always been extremely helpful with the MH17 investigation but we have had an instance in the past where they traded an important suspect,” Sjoerdsma said, referring to Tsemakh. “I hope our government is already making concrete agreements with Ukraine on what will happen if they get Girkin.”
“It would be a dream scenario to have him in Dutch court come November,” the Dutch lawmaker said.
