A former Russian intelligence officer arrived in the Netherlands on Monday, claiming he is prepared to share information about Kremlin war crimes with the International Criminal Court.

Igor Salikov told EenVandaag yesterday that he had served in both the Russian military and the Wagner mercenary group, including in Ukraine.

“I witnessed atrocities against civilians,” the 60-year-old told the television programme.

Sources in The Hague have confirmed to Dutch News that Salikov was picked up by the border police force Marechaussee at Schiphol Airport and is seeking asylum.

Salikov says he has written a letter to the ICC, which has not replied to a request for comment. The ex-soldier says that he has detailed how orders came from the Ministry of Defence and sometimes even President Vladimir Putin himself.

The Hague-based court issued an arrest warrant for Putin and a deputy last year. Prosecutors say they are responsible for the deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, which is a war crime.

The Joint Investigate Team, which looked into the downing of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, is also interested in Salikov. Last year a Dutch court convicted three members of a Russian-back militia group for shooting down the plane on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

“If this person has specific & reliable inside information on the chain of command that authorized the Buk TELAR that shot down MH17, the JIT would be interested in receiving it. ,” the National Public Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.