Ukraine moves to revoke citizenship of 4 lawmakers

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revoked the citizenship of four lawmakers, including opposition figure Viktor Medvedchuk, who was part of a prisoner exchange with Russia last September.

The Ukrainian parliament has received a presidential decree to strip the citizenship of Medvedchuk, Andrii Derkach, Taras Kozak, and Renat Kuzmin, according to Ruslan Stefanchuk, chairman of the legislature.

“Parliament will urgently consider the issue … at the next plenary session,” Stefanchuk said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

In a video address late Tuesday, President Zelenskyy said he took the decision based on “case materials compiled by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the State Migration Service of Ukraine, and in accordance with the constitution.”

He said more such decisions would follow, warning of action against “deputies (who) choose to serve not the people of Ukraine, but the murderers who came to Ukraine.”

Medvedchuk was part of a prisoner exchange involving 55 Russian servicemen last September.

Ukraine accused Medvedchuk of treason, promoting terrorism, and plundering national resources in Crimea, the Ukrainian region illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.​​​​​​​