- Sputnik International, 1920, 25.02.2022
Russia's Special Operation in Ukraine
On February 24, 2022 Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev's forces.

Ukrainian Opposition Politician Medvedchuk Placed Under Arrest Without Possibility of Bail: Report

© Sputnik / Стрингер / Go to the mediabankUkrainian opposition politician Viktor Medvedchuk at a court hearing in Kiev. February 17 2022.
Ukrainian opposition politician Viktor Medvedchuk at a court hearing in Kiev. February 17 2022. - Sputnik International, 1920, 16.04.2022
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Earlier in the day, Viktor Medvedchuk's wife Oksana Marchenko called on the relatives of two British mercenaries captured by Russian and Donbass troops to ask their government to influence Kiev to exchange them for her husband. Marchenko also appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Saudi crown prince for help.
A court in the western Ukrainian city of Lvov has placed opposition politician Viktor Medvedchuk under arrest without the possibility of bail, local media reported on Saturday.
Earlier, the court arrested 154 "objects of movable and immovable property" belonging to the politician.
Medvedchuk was detained in a "special operation" by Ukraine's Security Service on Tuesday after escaping house arrest in late February in fear for his life amid the wave of chaos, looting and violence which engulfed Kiev after the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published a photo of the Opposition Platform - For Life politician in handcuffs and wearing Ukrainian army fatigues following his detention, saying Kiev would be willing to exchange Medvedchuk for Ukrainian PoWs being held by Russian forces. Ukraine's security services published a second photo, showing Medvedchuk with what appears to be a large headwound above his brow. Oksana Marchenko said the wound was evidence that her husband had been beaten during his interrogation.

In an appeal to the Russian president on Saturday, Marachenko said that her husband had given consent on being handed over to the Russian side if Kiev and Moscow reached an agreement on his release.

Earlier, Marachenko appealed to the relatives of a pair of suspected British mercenaries who were recently captured alongside Ukrainian forces by Russian and Donbass troops, asking them to urge Boris Johnson to put pressure on Kiev to exchange the pair of prisoners for her husband. Marachenko also asked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to facilitate Medvedchuk's release in exchange for the two British nationals. Earlier this week, she appealed to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, asking him for assistance with the matter.
Oksana Marchenko - Sputnik International, 1920, 16.04.2022
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Medvedchuk's Wife Asks Saudi Crown Prince to Help Swap Her Husband For UK Mercenaries
Zelensky reiterated Saturday that Kiev would be willing to reach a deal with Moscow on the exchange of Medvedchuk, but said he has yet to receive a response from the Russian side.
Medvedchuk is a veteran Ukrainian politician and business tycoon who has spent years criticizing the country's pro-Western politicians and expressing the view that Ukraine's interests would best be met by forging closer ties with its Russian and Belarusian neighbours. Ukrainian and Western officials and media have labeled him as a "Russian puppet." The politician has dismissed these claims.
Medvedchuk was placed under house arrest in May 2021 after being charged with "treason" and "violation of the laws of war." Later, the court added "financing of terrorism" to the list of charges for alleged business activities in the Donbass republics. The politician has rejected the charges and says the case against him is politically motivated.
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