London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Who is Viktor Medvedchuk and why does his arrest matter to the Kremlin?

Who is Viktor Medvedchuk and why does his arrest matter to the Kremlin?

Analysis: Putin’s ally was Russia’s ‘main guy in Ukraine’ but Kremlin has refused prisoner exchange
He was Vladimir Putin’s best friend in Ukraine but the Kremlin says it won’t make a trade to secure his freedom.

Viktor Medvedchuk, a man often named the “dark prince” of Ukrainian politics, has been a loyal ally to Putin for two decades, leading a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine for years, even after the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the beginning of the deadly war in Donbas.

But their ties go even deeper than political alliances. The two have taken holidays together on the Black Sea at Putin’s residence in Sochi and Medvedchuk’s villa in Crimea, and Putin is godfather to Medvedchuk’s daughter, Daria.

While Putin has cited his anger over Ukraine’s drift toward Europe and his fear of Nato expansion as reasons for the invasion, some have argued that there may also be an element of personal revenge: the closure by Ukraine of Medvedchuk’s pro-Russian television stations, the seizure of his family’s assets and his eventual placement under house arrest in a treason case that Putin called an “absolute purge of the political field”.

For an oil and media baron and longtime confidant to Putin, it was a long way to fall.

“They [the Kremlin] viewed him as the main guy in Ukraine, their main interlocutor in Ukraine,” said a former Russian official, who knows Medvedchuk personally. “[Medvedchuk] was the legitimate way they could see their future influence [in Ukraine] … his ‘persecution’ is when this all began.”

Shortly before the war began, US intelligence claimed that Medvedchuk had been tapped by the Kremlin for a puppet government in a postwar regime.

Within days of the invasion, Medvedchuk disappeared from his Kyiv house arrest, leading many to believe that Russian special forces had managed to spirit him out of the country.

But his reappearance in custody has given the Ukrainian government an unexpected bargaining chip, with officials proposing prisoner exchanges and suggesting that Medvedchuk had shared information that would make life unsafe for him in Russia.

“I propose to Russia to exchange this man of yours for our boys and our girls who are now in Russian captivity,” Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, said in a video address on Telegram.

Little has been revealed about the operation to recapture Medvedchuk. Photographs released by Ukrainian officials showed him frowning in full military camouflage and handcuffs.

The Kremlin has responded to the re-arrest by claiming that Putin has no special relationship with Medvedchuk.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov at first suggested the photographs of Medvedchuk could be fakes and then claimed that Medvedchuk “has never had any behind the scenes relations with Russia”. If he did, Peskov claimed, he would have left Ukraine before the war began.

Medvedchuk’s lawyer in February claimed he had escaped house arrest. But when faced with questions about him today, the Kremlin claimed it would not make any trade.

“As for the [prisoner] exchange numerous actors in Kyiv have been talking about with so much passion, ardour and pleasure, Medvedchuk is not a Russian citizen and bears no relation to the special military operation. He is a foreign politician,” Peskov said at a press briefing.

“Besides, we do not know whether he wants Russia to be involved in any way in the resolution of the … situation he is currently facing.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
×