UPDATES WITH REMARKS BY UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER
By Beyza Binnur Donmez
ANKARA (AA) - Ukraine in a special operation captured the fugitive oligarch and Russian President Vladimir Putin's close friend Viktor Medvedchuk, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday.
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!"
"Details later. Glory to Ukraine!" he added.
On Medvedchuk's capture, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said he needs to stay in Ukrainian prison to stay alive.
"In order to survive Medvedchuk today needs to hide in Ukraine's prison. With guaranteed many years of imprisonment," Podolyak said on Twitter.
"In Russia, he will definitely be eliminated. As a person who regularly lied about the situation in Ukraine, stole money and eventually became one of the initiators of the war," he continued.
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 Putin's war on Kyiv began on Feb. 24.