ADDS MORE REMARKS FROM UKRAINE’S PRESIDENT
By Handan Kazanci
ISTANBUL (AA) – Ukraine's president proposed early Wednesday the exchange of Russian President Vladimir Putin's close friend Viktor Medvedchuk for Ukrainians in Russian captivity.
“I offer the Russian Federation to exchange this guy of yours for our boys and our girls who are now in Russian captivity,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a video posted on Telegram.
“I think it is especially cynical of him to use military camouflage. He tried to disguise himself like that. Such a ‘soldier.’ Such a ‘patriot,’” he said.
“If Medvedchuk chose a military uniform for himself, he falls under the rules of wartime,” Zelenskyy added.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine in a special operation captured the fugitive oligarch.
Sharing a photo of Medvedchuk sitting in a chair with his hands cuffed, Zelenskyy said on his Telegram account: "A special operation was carried out thanks to the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine). Well done!"
Last year, a treason case was opened in Ukraine against Medvedchuk, the leader of the opposition party Opposition Platform - For Life.
He was reported to have escaped house arrest just after Russia’s war on Ukraine began on Feb. 24.
At least 1,892 civilians have been killed and 2,558 injured in Ukraine since Russia launched the war, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be much higher.
More than 4.6 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.