Shortly after President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a photo of Viktor Medvedchuk in handcuffs on Tuesday, Ivan Bakanov, head of Ukraine’s national security service, told the agency’s Telegram channel that he had been arrested. Last year, Ukrainian authorities opened a betrayal case against Medvedchuk, who says Mr Putin is his daughter’s godfather. He denies that he has committed a crime. In 2018, Ukrainian opposition politician Medvedchuk gave an exclusive interview to The Independent ahead of the elections in March of the same year. At that time, Mr. Medvedchuk offered some clarity about his political goals. He asserted that his confession had been obtained through torture. But as if to underline his preference for the shadows of politics, he added that official positions meant nothing – not to a government that had “lost all meaning of its existence”. “The government has no influence on life in the country. “It has no monopoly on power,” he said. Follow our live updates on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine here Medvenchuk reportedly avoided house arrest just three days after Putin began his invasion of the country on February 24. Viktor Medvedchuk, leader of the political party Opposition Platform – For Life, attends a court hearing in Kyiv, Ukraine on May 13, 2021 (REUTERS) Medvedchuk, the leader of the For Life party, has been under house arrest since last year after authorities opened a treason case against him. His lawyer denied that he had escaped from Kyiv, but said Medvedchuk had been forced to flee because of threats from nationalist groups. “In connection with the real danger to life, as well as the need to ensure his protection, Viktor Medvenchuk was evacuated to a safe place in Kyiv,” said lawyer Larysa Cherednychenko. His lawyer also told him that Medvedchuk would continue to fulfill his legal obligations when the treason case was heard. The opposition politician was first placed under house arrest in May on charges of treason and attempted looting of state funds in Crimea, which was annexed by Ukraine from Russia in 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) attends a meeting with lMedvedchuk in St. Petersburg, Russia, on July 18, 2019 (REUTERS) His arrest caused problems in Moscow last year and news of his possible escape comes as Russia launches a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The British secret services believe that Russia intended to install a pro-Russian puppet government, a claim that the Kremlin rejected.
