Kremlin dismisses Ukraine’s offer to free Putin ally in prisoner exchange

The Kremlin has turned down Ukraine’s offer of a prisoner exchange for Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in Ukraine, the oligarch and opposition politician Viktor Medvedchuk, arrested on Tuesday in what was described as a “lightning-fast and dangerous” operation.

The capture of Medvedchuk, one of Ukraine’s richest men, who escaped house arrest on treason charges days after the Russian invasion, was first announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who posted a picture of the detainee on social media, dishevelled, in handcuffs and dressed in army fatigues with a Ukrainian flag patch.

“A special operation was carried out by the security service of Ukraine. Well done!” Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram. On Wednesday, the president gave more details saying that Medvedchuk had disguised himself as a Ukrainian soldier in a bid to flee the country.

“He’s been in hiding for 48 days. And finally he decided to try to escape from our country,” the president said. “I find his use of military camouflage particularly cynical. He tried to disguise himself like that. What a warrior. What a patriot.”

Zelenskiy suggested exchanging him for Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia.

“If Medvedchuk himself chose a military uniform, he is subject to the laws of war. I’m offering Russia to swap this guy of yours for our guys in Russian captivity. Therefore, it’s important that our law enforcement agencies and the military also consider such a possibility,” he said.

The Kremlin shrugged off the exchange offer, and warned Ukrainian leaders to “watch out”, threatening them with abduction in response. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Medvedchuk is not a Russian citizen. He has nothing to do with the special military operation. We don’t know if he wants anything to do with it at all.”

Russia’s former president and deputy chairman of its security council, Dmitry Medvedev, warned of reprisals for the arrest.

“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,” Medvedev said. “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.”

Medvedchuk grew rich from Russian oil interests and his proximity to the Kremlin.

Putin and Medvedev’s wife are godparents to his daughter, and Medvedchuk’s coalition, Opposition Platform – For Life, pursued a pro-Moscow agenda until he was charged with treason in May 2021, accused of selling military secrets to Russia and exploiting the natural resources of Crimea under Russian occupation. He denied wrongdoing and was under house arrest before fleeing during the first days of the invasion.

Investigators who went to Medvedchuk’s house found a replica of a vintage Pullman railway carriage, opulently furnished with gold fittings, standing at a mock-up of a railway station, all hidden under a tarpaulin.

His $200m 93-meter yacht, the Royal Romance, was seized in the Croatian port of Rijeka last month.

In January, the US put Medvedchuk and three other Moscow-backed Ukrainian politicians under sanctions, accusing them of involvement in a plot to set up a collaborator government in the wake of the Russian invasion.

Zelenskiy also suspended Medvedchuk’s party – Ukraine’s largest opposition grouping – and several other smaller political parties tied to Moscow in March.

Medvedchuk’s arrest and indictment angered Putin who threatened to respond to what he deemed to be political persecution.

It was not immediately clear where and how he was captured.

Ivan Bakanov, the head of the security service (SBU), thanked his investigators and counterintelligence officers, who “proved their professionalism and conducted a lightning-fast and dangerous multi-level special operation to detain deputy Medvedchuk”.

“You can hide from justice. You can even wear a Ukrainian military uniform to disguise … But will it help you escape from punishment? Not at all!” the SBU said in a tweet.

Kyiv’s crackdown on Medvedchuk had sparked anger in the Kremlin, with Putin vowing at one stage to “respond” to what he called a political persecution.

The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, would not comment on news of Medvedchuk’s capture, telling Russian reporters that “there are a lot of fakes coming from Ukraine” and “this needs to be checked first”.