Throughout Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 21 years in power, Ukrainian oligarch and Opposition politician Viktor Medvedchuk has been his close ally and the biggest proponent of Moscow’s interests in Ukraine. So on the 48th day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Volodomyrr Zelenskyy acted to hurt Putin — arresting his friend and ally in a “lightning-fast and dangerous” operation.’’
Ukraine’s security service SBU on Tuesday shared a photograph of a dishevelled-looking Medvedchuk, in handcuffs and wearing military fatigues. In a late night address on Tuesday, Zelenskyy offered to exchange Medvedchuk for the Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russian captivity.
Before this, Medvedchuk had been in house arrest, which he escaped after Russia invaded Ukraine.On Wednesday, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, responded to the attack. “Those freaks who call themselves the Ukrainian authorities say that they want to beat testimony out of Viktor Medvedchuk, ‘quickly and fairly’, convict him, and then exchange him for prisoners. These people should watch out and lock the doors well at night to make sure they do not become the people who are going to be exchanged themselves,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
This is not the first time Medvedchuk has faced consequences for his pro-Kremlin leanings. Not only has he been put under house arrest on treason charges in the past, he has also been slapped with sanctions by the United States. On both occasions, Putin rushed to his defence — calling Ukraine’s actions against the businessman “political persecution”.
So, who is Viktor Medvedchuk?
A rich businessman, Medvedchuk’s wealth is said to come mainly from Russian oil interests and his close ties with the Kremlin. He is the leader of the pro-Russian Opposition platform For Life. Backed by a group of billionaires, who like Medvedchuk are sympathetic to the Kremlin, the platform is the biggest opposition force in the country. For a while, Medvedchuk launched constant attacks on the ruling Zelenskyy government through his television channels — highlighting its failures, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic.
Notably, Medvedchuk and his family were among the first to receive doses of the Russian Covid-19 vaccine in August 2020, Time reported. Putin and Medvedchuk even brokered a deal to deliver millions of doses of the vaccine to Ukraine, but it was later rejected by the Ukrainian government. Interestingly, with Zelenskyy’s popularity taking quite a hit during the pandemic, some polls showed Medvedchuk’s party in the lead that year.
In May 2021, he was charged with treason and placed under house arrest, which he escaped after the Russian invasion. He was accused of attempting to steal natural resources from Russia-annexed Crimea and leaking military secrets to Russia. Several of his television channels were also controversially shut down last year for allegedly spreading Russian disinformation.
In March this year, Zelenskyy announced his government’s decision to suspend 11 parties, including Medvedchuk’s, that were linked to the Kremlin. The Zelenskyy government has been known to employ a strategy it calls “de-oligarchisation”, where it targets some of the president’s political adversaries through sanctions.
The US, too, does not look favourably at Medvedchuk’s close relationship with Russia, imposing sanctions on the oligarch and three other Russia-backed politicians in March. The US believed that they were involved in a plot to set up a collaborated government with Russia around the time it was invading Ukraine.
What do we know about Medvedchuk and Putin’s relationship?
The two of them seem to share a close relationship. Putin is the godfather of Medvedchuk’s youngest daughter and is often sighted with the Ukrainian businessman at Formula 1 races and martial arts meetings, according to a BBC report. They are also known to holiday together on the Black Sea, a Time magazine report stated.In an interview with Time, Medvedchuk said, “I don’t want to say I exploit that relationship, but you could say it has been part of my political arsenal.”
However, in an interview with filmmaker Oliver Stone in 2019, the Russian President said they meet from time to time. “I would not say that we are very close but we know each other well,” he said, according to the BBC.
