Pro-Russian Ukrainian lawmakers Viktor Medvedchuk and Taras Kozak were charged with high treason, dealing a blow to the Kremlin’s lobby in Ukraine.
Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova announced on May 11 that she authorized high treason charges against two lawmakers, whom she initially only identified as “M” and “K.” A Kyiv Post source with knowledge of the charges confirmed that the two were Medvedchuk and Kozak. Later in the day, Venediktova held a press conference where she confirmed the identities of the lawmakers.
On the same day, the Security Service of Ukraine, better known as the SBU, searched the house of Medvedchuk in Kyiv.
Medvedchuk is a personal friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has long been the unofficial representative of his interests in Ukraine. Medvedchuk and his ally Kozak are lawmakers with the Opposition Platform, a pro-Russian party with 44 seats in the 422-member parliament.
The charges against Medvedchuk and Kozak are the newest step in an ongoing offensive against Medvedchuk’s interests that started in early February, when the state imposed sanctions against Kozak and shut down three television channels owned by Kozak and reportedly linked to Medvedchuk.
The state followed up by introducing sanctions against Medvedchuk, their spouses and businesses, and ordered to nationalize one of Medvedchuk’s most prized possessions — an oil pipeline that used to belong to Ukraine. A chain of gas stations associated with Medvedchuk was shut down following searches. His holiday home in the Carpathian Mountains was also searched.
Venediktova said that Medvedchuk and Kozak are suspected of colluding with the Russian government to extract natural resources in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula that has been illegally occupied by Russia since the 2014 military invasion.
According to Venediktova, after Russia annexed Crimea, Medvedchuk re-registered his Kyiv-based company according to Russian laws to continue extracting gas in the peninsula.
Medvedchuk was assisted by Dmitry Kozak, deputy head of Putin’s administration. According to tapes provided by the SBU, Kozak oversaw the process by which the Russian parliament passed a law that would allow Ukrainian companies to continue working in Crimea if they re-register in Russia. The law was specifically designed to accommodate Medvedchuk.
According to Ivan Bakanov, SBU head, Medvedchuk also shared sensitive security information with Russia’s Kozak.
Medvedchuk allegedly shared geological information that helped Russia begin extracting resources in Crimea and in a separate case he shared the location of Ukrainian troops in Donbas, where they were fighting off Russia’s intervention.
Medvedchuk owns a lavish house in Crimea, which he has visited regularly since the Kremlin occupation started.
