Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed late Tuesday to Russia the exchange of Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian MP and billionaire close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, for Ukrainian prisoners currently held by Russia. This proposal came shortly after Kyiv announced the re-arrest of Medvedchuk following his escape from house arrest.
Zelensky stated in a video message broadcast on Telegram, "I offer the Russian Federation to exchange your man for our boys and girls currently held" by the Russians. He added, "For this reason, it is important for our security and military agencies to also consider this possibility." He continued, "Let Medvedchuk be an example for you. Even the old oligarch did not escape, let alone far simpler criminals in remote Russian areas? We will catch them all."
Zelensky posted an image online showing Medvedchuk with disheveled hair and handcuffed, wearing a Ukrainian army uniform. The Ukrainian president wrote on his Telegram channel, "A special operation carried out thanks to the SBU (Ukrainian Security Service). Well done!"
The SBU later confirmed in a statement the arrest of Medvedchuk, who had been under house arrest until he went missing days after the commencement of the Russian military operation in Ukraine on February 24. SBU chief Ivan Bakanov stated that agents executed "a rapid and dangerous multi-level special operation to capture" the pro-Russian MP.
The statement via Telegram said, "No traitor will escape punishment, and everyone will be held accountable under Ukrainian law." Medvedchuk, one of Ukraine's wealthiest individuals, is highly controversial due to his close ties to Moscow. Putin is considered a personal friend of the 67-year-old businessman and the godfather of his younger daughter Daria.
Medvedchuk had been under house arrest since last year on charges of treason after being accused of trying to steal natural resources from Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and providing Moscow with Ukrainian military secrets. He seemingly escaped shortly after the Russian military operation began on February 24. The police reported they could not find him at his home on February 26 and declared him missing the following day.
The Ukrainian actions against Medvedchuk angered the Kremlin, with Putin previously threatening to "respond" to what he described as political persecution. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the news of Medvedchuk's arrest, stating to Russian news agencies, "There is a lot of misleading news coming from Ukraine. This information needs to be verified."
