Ukraine imposes sanctions against Putin's friend Medvedchuk and his wife
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) has imposed sanctions against the Ukrainian politician, MP, leader of the political party “Opposition Platform for Life”, Viktor Medvedchuk.
Medvedchuk is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who he refers to as "a personal friend"
Medvedchuk's wife Oksana Marchenko was also put on sanctions list. The list includes another Ukrainian citizen, five Russians and 19 companies. Secretary of the National Security Council Oleksiy Danilov said at a briefing that the restrictions are imposed for three years as part of the case on financing of terrorism.
The decision of the National Security Council must be approved by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Dmitry Medvedev, chairman of the United Russia party and deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, called the imposition of sanctions against Medvedchuk a manifestation of the "political inquisition."
"The easiest way to divert attention from their endless failures is to persecute the opposition and subject it to repression. In addition, Viktor Medvedchuk is one of the few Ukrainian politicians who advocates the restoration of relations between Moscow and Kyiv. Such methods of unfair struggle are unlikely to stop the collapse in Zelensky’s approval ratings," Medvedev said.
According to him, such actions "will ultimately undermine the credibility of the official Kyiv, which put the political inquisition above the fundamental rights and freedoms of the citizen."