Sunday, 1 Jun 2025
America Age
  • Trending
  • World
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
    • Money
    • Crypto & NFTs
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion / Beauty
    • Art & Books
    • Culture
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Font ResizerAa
America AgeAmerica Age
Search
  • Trending
  • World
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
    • Money
    • Crypto & NFTs
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion / Beauty
    • Art & Books
    • Culture
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2024 America Age. All Rights Reserved.
America Age > Blog > World > Detained tycoon Viktor Medvedchuk: Putin’s man in Ukraine
World

Detained tycoon Viktor Medvedchuk: Putin’s man in Ukraine

Enspirers | Editorial Board
Share
Detained tycoon Viktor Medvedchuk: Putin’s man in Ukraine
SHARE

Ukrainian tycoon Viktor Medvedchuk, captured by the country’s special services after fleeing home arrest when Russia invaded, is seen as President Vladimir Putin’s top ally in Kyiv who has been defending the Kremlin’s interests for years.

In a picture posted online Tuesday by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky hailing the arrest, the lawmaker appeared a shadow of the super-rich powerbroker once dubbed the “dark prince” of Ukrainian politics.

Looking dishevelled with a messy mop of grey hair, the 67-year-old stared meekly into the camera with his hands in cuffs and wearing a rumpled Ukrainian army uniform.

News of the capture of Medvedchuk — listed by Forbes last year as Ukraine’s 12th richest person — immediately sparked a celebratory outburst among Ukrainians online as they revelled in the comeuppance of man widely reviled for his close links to the Kremlin.

“It is a symbolic event, like capturing Goebbels, a great success from a moral and political point of view,” said Sergiy Leshchenko, an advisor to Ukraine’s presidency, referring to the Nazi propaganda chief.

“This is the man who was receiving direct instructions and resources from Putin to prepare the terrain for the invasion,” he alleged.

Medvedchuk and the Kremlin deny that he has been pulling the strings for the Kremlin in Kyiv, but the businessman makes no secret of his proximity to Putin.

The ties between the two men date back to the early 2000s and Medvedchuk says the Russian leader is godfather to his youngest daughter Darya.

Medvedchuk and Putin were regularly photographed together at lavish events including the Formula 1 race in Sochi.

“We have a great relationship. It has been built over many years,” he said in an interview with AFP back in 2019.

The authorities in Kyiv certainly believe that Medvedchuk remains a key Kremlin asset.

Security chief Ivan Bakanov said Wednesday that Russia’s FSB intelligence agency was looking to spirit him out of Ukraine.

And Zelensky suggested swapping Medvedchuk for captured Ukrainian soldiers — although the idea was dismissed by Moscow.

– Putin’s ‘eyes and ears’ –

Medvedchuk, a former lawyer, was long at the centre of Ukraine’s murky nexus between money and politics.

Chief of staff to the country’s second president Leonid Kuchma, he was accused of playing a key role in attempts to rig a 2004 vote in favour of pro-Russian candidate Viktor Yanukovych.

That election sparked a first uprising known as the Orange Revolution that foreshadowed the later Maidan revolution that shifted Ukraine towards the West in 2014 and ousted Yanukovych from power.

Medvedchuk continued to operate from the shadows during the turbulence rocking his homeland as Moscow responded by seizing the Crimea peninsula and igniting a war in eastern Ukraine.

He was sanctioned by the US for undermining the government and was involved in peace talks and negotiations for prisoner exchanges as a go-between.

Eventually, he bounced back to the centre of the political stage.

At 2019 parliamentary elections he headed the Moscow-backed Opposition Platform-For Life party as it came second behind Zelensky’s bloc.

But Medvedchuk’s fortunes began to deteriorate in February 2021.

Zelensky banned three pro-Russian television channels he was tied to and the authorities then seized his family’s assets including a pipeline transporting Russian oil to Europe.

In May of that year he was charged with “high treason” over accusations of attempting to steal assets from Russia-annexed Crimea and later also for trying to buy coal from separatist-held regions.

He denied the allegations but was placed under house arrest.

Putin denounced the crackdown against him as a “political” purge and vowed to “respond”.

“Medvedchuk was Putin’s deputy, his most trusted man, his eyes and ears in Ukraine, who broadcast messages from Moscow” through his media, Leshchenko said.

As fears mounted of a Russian invasion, the US in January accused Medvedchuk of involvement in efforts by Russian intelligence services to prepare friendly Ukrainian politicians to take control of the country with the backing of occupying forces.

A few days after Russian troops rolled across the border, Ukrainian police announced Medvedchuk was missing after officers failed to find him during a check of his lavish home near Kyiv.

In the wake of his escape, Ukrainian media discovered on land at his residence a large train carriage decorated with gold and velvet and the Russian coat of arms, apparently a birthday present from his wife, TV presenter Oksana Marchenko, who fled to Russia.

neo-ant/del/har

Share This Article
Twitter Email Copy Link Print
Previous Article Harley Quinn Smith responds to commenter who asked why she wasn’t ‘skinny’ as a vegan: ‘No such thing as one vegan body type’ Harley Quinn Smith responds to commenter who asked why she wasn’t ‘skinny’ as a vegan: ‘No such thing as one vegan body type’
Next Article Jenna Bush Hager Misses ‘Today’ After She Tested Positive For Covid Jenna Bush Hager Misses ‘Today’ After She Tested Positive For Covid

Your Trusted Source for Accurate and Timely Updates!

Our commitment to accuracy, impartiality, and delivering breaking news as it happens has earned us the trust of a vast audience. Stay ahead with real-time updates on the latest events, trends.
FacebookLike
TwitterFollow
InstagramFollow
LinkedInFollow
MediumFollow
QuoraFollow
- Advertisement -
Ad image

Popular Posts

Putin’s aim is to leave Ukraine cold, dark this winter, says Stoltenberg

Jens Stoltenberg“The coming months will be difficult,” he said during a meeting with the Dutch…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

Fleeing Russians worry border will ‘close forever’

Fearing the border may close "forever" after President Vladimir Putin's mobilisation order for the war…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

Kaley Cuoco shares sweet new photos of her baby bump

Three days after Kaley Cuoco revealed that she's expecting a baby girl with Tom Pelphrey,…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

US, South Korea to extend military drills after North Korean launches

WASHINGTON ― The U.S. and South Korea announced Thursday they will extend joint military drills…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

You Might Also Like

‘We’ll decide our defence coverage’: Albanese responds to US push for big rise in spending because it stokes China fears
World

‘We’ll decide our defence coverage’: Albanese responds to US push for big rise in spending because it stokes China fears

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Hamas should settle for hostage deal or be ‘annihilated’, warns Israeli defence minister – Center East disaster dwell
World

Hamas should settle for hostage deal or be ‘annihilated’, warns Israeli defence minister – Center East disaster dwell

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Anxious about weed: ought to London comply with New York and decriminalise hashish?
World

Anxious about weed: ought to London comply with New York and decriminalise hashish?

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Israeli airstrikes goal websites in western Syria, reportedly killing one
World

Israeli airstrikes goal websites in western Syria, reportedly killing one

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
America Age
Facebook Twitter Youtube

About US


America Age: Your instant connection to breaking stories and live updates. Stay informed with our real-time coverage across politics, tech, entertainment, and more. Your reliable source for 24/7 news.

Company
  • About Us
  • Newsroom Policies & Standards
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Careers
  • Media & Community Relations
  • WP Creative Group
  • Accessibility Statement
Contact Us
  • Contact Us
  • Contact Customer Care
  • Advertise
  • Licensing & Syndication
  • Request a Correction
  • Contact the Newsroom
  • Send a News Tip
  • Report a Vulnerability
Terms of Use
  • Digital Products Terms of Sale
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Settings
  • Submissions & Discussion Policy
  • RSS Terms of Service
  • Ad Choices
© 2024 America Age. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?