Viktor Medvedchuk

Analysis: Putin's ally was Russia's 'main guy in Ukraine' but Kremlin has refused prisoner exchange.

“As for the [prisoner] exchange numerous actors in Kyiv have been talking about with so much passion, ardour and pleasure, Medvedchuk is not a Russian citizen and bears no relation to the special military operation. “[Medvedchuk] was the legitimate way they could see their future influence [in Ukraine] … his ‘persecution’ is when this all began.” “I propose to Russia to exchange this man of yours for our boys and our girls who are now in Russian captivity,” Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, said in a video address on Telegram.

Vinnytsia, Ukraine – Last May, 67-year-old Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian politician close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was charged with treason in ...

The party also paid for stories in other outlets, a media monitor claimed in 2018. Pro-Moscow and pro-Western political forces had polarised the ex-Soviet nation of 43 million, where a third of the population still speaks Russian at home. Medvedchuk’s party resisted Ukraine’s “de-communisation” efforts to remove Soviet-era monuments and symbols, and opposed the “language law” that curbed the use of Russian in mass media and public life. In the early 2000s, he headed the administration of Leonid Kuchma, a pro-Russia president – and developed the image of a taciturn “grey cardinal”. The post included a photo of the handcuffed Medvedchuk, looking pallid and dishevelled in a badly fitting military uniform; in the past, he was often seen in bespoke suits and with a smile on his face. He was placed under house arrest and Putin immediately accused Kyiv of “purging the political field of all the forces that stand for a peaceful resolution” of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the apparent capture of Viktor Medvedchuk, a pro-Kremlin politician in Ukraine. Medvedchuk had been under ...

"You can be a pro-Russian politician and work for the aggressor state for years. And hiding places, wherever we find you!" Glory to Ukraine!" Zelenskyy said.

He was reported to have escaped house arrest just three days after Putin launched Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

It has no monopoly of force,” he said. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. At the time, Mr Medvedchuk offered little clarity on his political aims.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday published a photo of prominent pro-Russian Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk in handcuffs after what ...

The arrest of Medvedchuk was viewed by many as part of Zelensky's administration's crackdown on corrupt, pro-Russian figures. 'It's far more scary to remain and burn in your sleep from a Russian shell,' he wrote on social media. Zelenskiy had said on Monday that Russia may resort to chemical weapons as it massed troops for a new assault. Pictured: Handout photo made available by Ukrainian Presidency shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives for a meeting with Austrian chancellor in Kyiv on April 9, 2022 Like his character, Zelensky in 2019 ran on an anti-corruption campaign, and trounced the pro-Russia leaning incumbent Petro Poroshenko by taking 73 percent of votes. 'You can be a pro-Russian politician and work for the aggressor state for years. Reuters journalists accompanying Russian-backed separatists saw flames billowing from the Azovstal district. Shackles are waiting for you,' the agency wrote, while posting a picture of Medvedchuk. You can even wear a Ukrainian military uniform for camouflage… Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday published a photo (pictured) of prominent pro-Russian Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk in handcuffs after what he said was an operation by security forces A day before Russia's invasion on February 24, Kyiv said Medvedchuk - the leader of the 'Opposition Platform - For Life' party - had escaped from house arrest and went on the run. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday published a photo of prominent pro-Russian Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk in handcuffs after what he said was an operation by security forces.

Viktor Medvedchuk had escaped house arrest on treason charges days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

He denied wrongdoing and was under house arrest before fleeing during the first days of the invasion. “You can hide from justice. In January, the US put Medvedchuk and three other Moscow-backed Ukrainian politicians under sanctions, accusing them of involvement in a plot to set up a collaborator government in the wake of the Russian invasion.

The oligarch Ukrainian politician with close ties to the Kremlin was facing treason charges when he escaped house arrest days after Russia's invasion.

Medvedchuk was then charged with treason in May 2021 and subsequently placed under house arrest, with Ukraine accusing him ofselling military secrets to Moscow and exploiting Crimea’s natural resources under the Russian occupation.Medvedchuk denied the charges. “If Medvedchuk chose a military uniform for himself, he falls under the rules of war,”Zelenskyy said, offering to exchange him for Ukrainians in Russian captivity. Ukrainian forces say they’ve captured Russian PresidentVladimir Putin’s close ally Viktor Medvedchuk, who was facing treason charges and escaped house arrest in Ukraine in the early days of the war.Medvedchuk, who led the pro-Kremlin “Opposition Platform — For Life” party in Ukraine, which aimed to steer the country away from the West, was arrested in 2021 on charges of treason and financing terrorism.

The mega-wealthy oligarch with strong ties to Putin has been recaptured by security forces in Ukraine.

You can even wear a Ukrainian military uniform for camouflage,” Ukraine’s security services said in an online post. Shackles are waiting for you and same goes for traitors to Ukraine like you.” “You can be a pro-Russian politician and work for the aggressor state for years.

A close ally of Vladimir Putin has been captured in a special operation carried out by the Ukraine's secret service, Ukrainian officials said.

Shackles are waiting for you and same goes for traitors to Ukraine like you." Mr Zelenskyy wrote: "A special operation was carried out thanks to the SBU. Well done! Glory to Ukraine!"

The millionaire tycoon and politican has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. If Russia had taken Kyiv, many experts believe Medvedchuk would've been ...

Shackles are waiting for you and same goes for traitors to Ukraine like you," the post said. You can even wear a Ukrainian military uniform for camouflage," the security services said in a post. "You can be a pro-Russian politician and work for the aggressor state for years. Three months later, prosecutors accused Medvedchuk and a fellow opposition lawmaker of high treason and placed Medvedchuk under house arrest. "Putin thinks we are one nation, but I think it's not one nation, but two Slavic nations, with intertwined histories, religion," Medvedchuk told the outlet of Ukraine and Russia. "I tell him this all the time. "I know I'm the only one who can do it," he told the outlet in 2018.

Vladimir Putin ally Viktor Medvedchuk has been re-captured by Ukrainian secret service after he escaped house arrest and went on the run for weeks.

Shackles are waiting for you and same goes for traitors to Ukraine like you." You simply can't say this." I don't think it's one nation. "But will it help you escape punishment? You may have been hiding from justice lately. The Ukrainian security services said in an online post: "You can be a pro-Russian politician and work for the aggressor state for years.

The latest measures also include 178 people linked to breakaway Russian-backed regions of Ukraine after last week's "barbaric" targeting of civilians last ...

Foreign secretary Liz Truss said: "In the wake of horrific rocket attacks on civilians in Eastern Ukraine, we are today sanctioning those who prop up the illegal breakaway regions and are complicit in atrocities against the Ukrainian people. The list includes 178 people targeted in coordination with the EU because of their role in propping up illegal breakaway regions of Ukraine - including Alexander Ananchenko and Sergey Kozlov, self-styled prime minister and chair of government of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. Britain has sanctioned 206 more individuals over Russia's invasion of Ukraine – including a fugitive oligarch who has just been arrested by Ukrainian secret services.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last night posted an image of a “dishevelled” Viktor Medvedchuk, a Kremlin-linked oligarch known as the “Grey Cardinal”, wearing “ ...

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