DISINFO: Medvedchuk case is political, foreigners ordered Ukraine to cut links with Russia and Belarus
SUMMARY
Pro-Kremlin politician Viktor Medvedchuk was put under suspicion for high treason on orders from abroad. Foreign countries force Ukraine to oust those who communicate with Russia and Belarus. Medvedchuk was making peacekeeping efforts, and his role was a stabilising one for Ukrainian politics. The fact that people like him are being removed means that the Ukrainian authorities are nervous.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin media outlets claiming that the West compels the Ukrainian leadership to cut all relations with Russia and that the recent legal action against pro-Kremlin politician Viktor Medvedchuk was a political case orchestrated from Western countries. In reality, these allegations are unsubstantiated.
Ukraine and Russia maintain relations in certain spheres, first and foremost where prisoner exchange is concerned. Russia is a party to the Donbas conflict, so Ukraine prefers to discuss the liberation of its citizens with it rather than with its proxies in Donbas. It would mean recognition of the so-called “DNR” and “LNR” as political subjects.
Viktor Medvedchuk is regarded as the most prominent agent of Russian influence in Ukraine. He is a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is godfather to Medvedchuk’s daughter. Putin and Ukrainian pro-Kremlin politicians hold Medvedchuk in high esteem for his continual attempts to coerce Ukraine into accepting Russian conditions concerning a peaceful settlement in Donbas. Legal action against him is not a political case. Suspicion of high treason was announced on 11 May 2021; Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said at a news conference:
"Medvedchuk, as the organiser of all this illegal activity, having strong ties with the leadership of the Russian Federation, began, according to the investigation, subversive activities against Ukraine, including in the economic sphere."
Investigative journalists published records of allegedly his telephone conversations with Russian top officials and separatist leaders.