'Exchange Him for Our Boys, Girls': Ukraine Arrests Putin Ally Viktor Medvedchuk
Medvedchuk was charged with treason last year, and escaped house arrest a few days after the Russian invasion.
Viktor Medvedchuk.
(Photo Courtesy: Instagram/zelenskiy_official)
In what they called a "lightning-fast and dangerous" operation, Ukrainian security services have arrested Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in Ukraine – an oligarch and opposition politician named Viktor Medvedchuk.
Medvedchuk was charged with treason last year, and escaped house arrest a few days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The announcement of his capture was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who posted a photo on social media of Medvedchuk in handcuffs, dressed in army clothes with a Ukrainian flag on them.
"I propose to the Russian Federation to exchange this guy of yours for our boys and our girls who are now in Russian captivity," Zelenskyy said in a video address that he posted on Telegram.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said this was because "so many fakes are now coming from Ukraine" that "now everything needs to be checked".
Who is Viktor Medvedchuk?
Medvedchuk is a wealthy businessperson who heads a pro-Kremlin party in Ukraine called the Opposition Platform. He also chairs a pro-Russia NGO called Ukrainian Choice.
His political career in Ukraine includes being an MP and even a chief of staff.
From 1997 to 2002, Medvedchuk was a member of the Ukrainian parliament. He also served as chief of staff to former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma, between 2002 and 2005.
The Allegations Against Viktor Medvedchuk
More than a year ago, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine sanctioned Medvedchuk and his wife, Oksana Marchenko, for allegedly financing terrorism.
Then on 11 May 2021, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine (PGU) accused Medvedchuk of looting national resources in Crimea (annexed in 2014 by Russia), something that, according to the PGU, amounted treason.
Medvedchuk's house arrest began on 13 May 2021 but he escaped on 28 February, four days after the Russia invaded Ukraine.
He has long been the favourite to be hand-picked by Putin as the next leader of Ukraine if the Zelenskyy government is overthrown and a puppet government is involved in Kyiv.
(With inputs from Reuters and BBC.)
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