Ukrainian businessman Viktor Medvedchuk was arrested during an operation by the security services. “Let Medvedchuk be an example for you”said the head of state in a video.
Article written by
Posted
Update
Reading time : 1 min.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered Moscow to“to exchange” Ukrainian businessman Viktor Medvedchuk, a close associate of Vladimir Putin recently arrested, against Ukrainians in captivity in Russia. “Let Medvedchuk be an example for you”said the Ukrainian leader in a video, Tuesday, April 12. “Even the former oligarch did not escape. Not to mention the far lesser criminals of the Russian hinterland. We will have everyone.”
>> Follow the latest information on the war in Ukraine in our live
Ukrainian authorities had earlier in the day announced the arrest of this 67-year-old Ukrainian who had been on the run since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “A special operation was carried out thanks to the SBU [les services de sécurité ukrainiens, NDLR]. Cheer !”, President Zelensky had announced on Telegram, accompanying his message with a photo of Viktor Medvedchuk, handcuffed and dressed in a Ukrainian army uniform. SBU chief Ivan Bakanov thanked his subordinates for successfully conducting “this exceptional and dangerous mission”.
Viktor Medvedchuk had been under house arrest since May 2021 after being charged with “high treason” and “attempted looting of natural resources in Crimea”, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. On February 26, two days after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian police had however noted his disappearance during a control visit.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on his arrest to Russian news agencies, saying“there are a lot of ‘fake’ coming from Ukraine” and saying that “this needs to be checked first”. Viktor Medvedchuk, 12th fortune of Ukraine in 2021 with 620 million dollars, according to the magazine Forbes, is known for his links with Vladimir Putin who is, according to the person concerned, the godfather of one of his daughters. He is the founder of the pro-Russian party “Opposition Platform-For Life”, which had around 30 deputies in the Ukrainian Parliament before being banned in March.