Kyiv could consider the possibility of exchanging MP Viktor Medvedchuk if Russia confirms his Russian citizenship, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
“Mr. Medvedchuk is a citizen of Ukraine, and Ukrainian legislation applies to him. On the other hand, if, for example, Russia confirms that Mr. Medvedchuk has Russian citizenship, for example (let’s say, it is quite possible), then we would be willing after this confirmation, or at least a hint, to consider the possibility of exchanging Mr. Medvedchuk for real heroes and Ukrainian citizens who are not in Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a comment to the ICTV channel on Oct. 17.
On May 11, Medvedchuk, who is the leader of the pro-Russian Opposition Platform – For Life parliamentary faction, was notified of suspicion of high treason and attempted plunder of national resources in Crimea. On Oct. 8, the Prosecutor General’s Office presented Medvedchuk with a new note of suspicion of high treason and aiding the activities of a terrorist organization in connection with his involvement in the illegal supply of coal from the “occupied territory” in late 2014 and early 2015.
On Oct. 12, Kyiv’s Pechersky District Court handed down a restrictive measure in the form of house arrest to Medvedchuk. The court thus dismissed the motion put forward by the prosecutors seeking Medvedchuk’s arrest or a bail of Hr one billion.
The restrictive measure in the form of house arrest will be effective until Dec. 7, 2021.
The court also imposed additional procedural obligations on Medvedchuk, such as not leaving the settlement he resides in, informing an investigator or a prosecutor if his place of residence changes, and surrendering documents for travelling abroad.
Medvedchuk told journalists after the court ruling was read out that “yet another criminal case has been feloniously fabricated” against him.
