Translated material
Who is Viktor Medvedchuk: Ukraine detained a politician close to Putin and offers to exchange for its prisoners
The “pro-Russian” deputy, according to the Ukrainian authorities, escaped from house arrest. Russia criticized Ukraine for the proposal “quickly and fairly” to condemn it.
“A special operation was carried out thanks to the SBU. Well done, ” - so on April 12, the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelenskyannounced the detention of the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Viktor Medvedchuk, publishing his photo in handcuffs. Data on the detention of the head of one of the largest Ukrainian parties “The Opposition Platform - For Life” (OPZH) confirmed to Kommersant one of its members.
The detention of the 67-year-old Medvedchuk is remarkable for his status-this is not just a local deputy, but the most famous “pro-Russian” politician in Ukraine, one of the richest people of the country (Forbes data for 2021) and ex-participant in prisoners of war negotiations. His daughter was baptized by Vladimir Putin. Including for these reasons the media is considered the closest ally of the Russian president in Ukraine. Medvedchuk is under the sanctions of Great Britain and the USA.
TJ tells the main thing about Medvedchuk, about which nothing was known from February 27 - the third day since the beginning of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.
What is known about the detention of Medvedchuk
Soon after Zelensky’s announcement, another photograph of Medvedchuk was published by the Ukrainian Security Service. In both pictures, the politician is depicted in handcuffs and in Ukrainian military uniforms. The SBU spoke about the "multi -level special operation" for detention with the participation of counterintelligence and investigators, but did not reveal the details.
You can be a pro -Russian politician and years to work for the state of the aggressor. You can hide from justice lately. You can even put on a Ukrainian military uniform for disguise ...
But will it help you get away from punishment? By no means! The shackles are waiting for you. And the same traitors of Ukraine as you!.
Fragment from the SBU message about the detention of Medvedchuk
The Kremlin reacted to the news about the detention of Medvedchuk about 15 minutes after its appearance, paid attention to The Bell. The press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “it could not say anything how much this is true,” and said that the published photographs needed verification.
Such a number of fakes is now coming from Ukraine, so many fakes are professionally or unprofessional generated in Ukraine with the help of various assistants from international PR agencies, including that it would be incorrect to take it for truth in the first instance.
Dmitry Peskov
Nothing was reported about the fate of Medvedchuk since February 27, when the Ukrainian media, citing a source in the office of the prosecutor general and adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko, spoke about the flight of a deputy from house arrest.
Medvedchuk has been under house arrest since October 2021. He is charged with state treason and attempt to plunder national resources in Crimea. According to the law, he faces up to fifteen years of imprisonment. The defendant himself calls the matter "political reprisal for a fundamental position."
The case of Gosizman Medvedchuk is built around three episodes. He was charged with the following:
- The “retreat” of the rights of the Russian authorities to the “deep” field in the Black Sea with resources of 38 billion hryvnias (more than 102 billion rubles at the current exchange rate);
- the transfer of data on the location, personnel and combat training of the secret military unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
- Creating a structure for "collecting personal data of Ukrainians, recruitment, influence on the country's domestic policy and propaganda spread." We are talking about the organization "Promin" ("Ray"), which has announced a mission to assistance to Ukrainians who go to Russia for study and work.
Medvedchuk regularly extended the maintenance period under house arrest. He was supposed to be under him at least until March 10, 2022.
How Medvedchuk is connected with Russia and Putin
Medvedchuk is called “Kum of Putin,” as the Russian president became the godfather of his daughter. The fact that this happened in 2004 at the request of his wife, Ukrainian TV presenter Oksana Marchenko, was confirmed by Medvedchuk himself.
In the policy of Medvedchuk-since the 1990s. His most famous positions are the head of the campaign headquarters Leonid Kuchma (1999) and the head of the presidential administration (2002-2005). After the Orange Revolution, Viktor Yushchenko’s victory in the presidential election and failure with the Bloc “Not so!” In the elections to the Verkhovna Radoy Medvedchuk, he left a public policy for a while. But the media suggested that he continued to secretly participate in Ukrainian-Russian relations, for example, he invited the Kremlin to support Yulia Tymoshenko.
In 2011, Medvedchuk returned to a public policy with the Ukrainian Choice organization: the movement criticized the President Viktor Yanukovych at that time, opposed the Association of Ukraine with the European Union and proposed joining the Customs Union. The conference of Medvedchuk under the auspices of the “Ukrainian choice” was visited by Vladimir Putin. At different times, the Russian president received the Ukrainian deputy in the Kremlin and the residence in Novo-Ogarsovo.
Before the Euromaidan, the media appeared in the media that in the next presidential election in Ukraine, Putin would bet on Medvedchuk. However, against the backdrop of the 2014 revolution, the politician left Kiev. The offices of the Ukrainian choice in the capital were repeatedly smashed .
Since the fall of 2014, Medvedchuk was involved in the Minsk negotiations to resolve the situation in the east of Ukraine, where at that time the self -proclaimed LPR and the DPR were already operating. In 2018, Petro Poroshenko admitted that Medvedchuk was no longer involved in the negotiations, and noted: “But de facto he is a representative of Putin there. He may be the only channel for reporting information. ”
The next stage of Medvedchuk is the party “Opposition Platform - for Life” (OPZH). In July 2018, Medvedchuk entered it, and in November - headed her political advice. In the elections in which Vladimir Zelensky defeated Petro Poroshenko, Medvedchuk supported Yuri Boyko, who came with him during the campaign to Russia. In March 2022, during an armed conflict, the Council of National Security and Defense of Ukraine banned the activities of the OPZH and another 10 “pro -Russian parties”.
Since February 2021, Medvedchuk and his wife have been under the sanctions of Ukraine because of the case of the Stateizer. In January 2022, he also fell under US sanctions due to "assistance to the political goals of the Kremlin." Since April 13, 2022, Medvedchuk has been on the UK sanctions list.
Where to learn more about Medvedchuk:
- Historical certificate of RBC dated April 12, 2022;
- Biography on the website of the Ukrainian " 24 channels " of February 19, 2021;
- The story of the Polish “ Euroradio ” about the connection of Medvedchuk with Belarus of February 5, 2021;
- Interview with the BBC Russian Service in June 2019;
- The material of the Ukrainian magazine " New Time " on the participation of Medvedchuk in the negotiations of Russia and Ukraine of October 2017.
What is known about the proposal to exchange Medvedchuk
Medvedchuk was hiding from the Ukrainian authorities for 48 days and “finally” tried to escape “outside” the country, Zelensky said in a separate circulation. The President of Ukraine invited Russia to exchange “this lad yours” for Ukrainian prisoners of war.
In response to the statement of Zelensky, the adviser to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Vadim Denisenko suggested holding a “fastest trial” over Medvedchuk to “give certain testimonies because he has a huge amount of information, who and to whom gave money to move collaborators.”
From Russia, the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, and the deputy chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, answered the proposal from Russia.
- Medvedev : “Individual freaks who call themselves“ Ukrainian authorities ”report that they want to knock out testimonies from Viktor Medvedchuk,“ quickly and fairly ”to condemn him, and then exchange it for prisoners. These figures should carefully look around and firmly lock the doors overnight so as not to be among the exchanged persons. ”
- Zakharova : “I see? British scheme: to hold a quick court, give a deadline, and then knock out the testimony. It works flawlessly. "
Medvedchuk detention - an occasion for meme and discussion in social networks
Photos of Medvedchuk in military uniform and handcuffs turned into a meme. In social networks, they also remembered “ I will now show where the attack was being prepared ,” and about “ girl and five guys ”, and about the sad Keanu Reeves, and about Skyrim .
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