Viktor Medvedchuk
 Viktor Medvedchuk    (lawyer, politician) | |
|---|---|
 Viktor Medvedchuk in April 2022 | |
| Born | 7 August 1954 |
Viktor Volodymyrovych Medvedchuk (born 7 August 1954) is a Ukrainian lawyer, business oligarch and politician who was elected as People's Deputy of Ukraine on 29 August 2019. He served as the chairman of the pro-Russian political organisation "Ukrainian Choice" from 2018 to 2022. He is an opponent of Ukraine joining the European Union.
Ukrainian MP
From 1997 to 2002 Viktor Medvedchuk was a member of the Ukrainian parliament, served between 2002 and 2005 as chief of staff to former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma and after this was absent from national politics until 2018.[1] In November 2018, Medvedchuk was elected chairman of the political council of the political party "For Life", which later merged into the "Opposition Platform – For Life" party. In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election, the party won 37 seats on the nationwide party list and six constituency seats. As he placed third on the 2019 election list of "Opposition Platform – For Life", Medvedchuk was elected to parliament.
Accused of treason
On 19 February 2021, the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine included Medvedchuk and his wife, Oksana Marchenko, on the Ukrainian sanctions list, due to alleged financing of terrorism. On 11 May 2021, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine accused Medvedchuk of treason and attempted looting of national resources in Crimea (which had been annexed by Russia but remains internationally recognised as Ukrainian).[2] Medvedchuk's house arrest started on 13 May 2021 but escaped on 28 February 2022, four days after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and went missing. On 8 March 2022 he was removed from the post of co-chairman of "Opposition Platform – For Life". On 12 April 2022 Medvedchuk was arrested by the SBU Ukrainian secret service.[3]
Godfather's ally
Viktor Medvedchuk is considered an ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, whom Medvedchuk has referred to as "a personal friend". Putin is the godfather of Medvedchuk's youngest daughter.
References
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