Ukrainian special forces have captured the leader of a pro-Russian political party who fled in late February while out on bail, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced.
Zelenskiy on April 12 posted a photo on Facebook of a disheveled Viktor Medvedchuk, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, in handcuffs as he announced his capture.
Zelenskiy later proposed swapping Medvedchuk for prisoners of war being held by Russian forces. In an address early on April 13, he said it was important for security and military forces to consider such a possibility.
Medvedchuk, who led the Opposition Platform -- For Life party, which advocated closer ties to Russia, was arrested in 2021 on charges of treason and financing terrorism.
The 67-year-old Medvedchuk denies the charges and calls them politically motivated.
Medvedchuk, who tapped Putin to be the godfather of his child, is one of Ukraine's wealthiest people, with a fortune estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
He owns energy assets in Russia, which launched an unprovoked attack on Ukraine on February 24.
Ukraine placed sanctions on Medvedchuk in February 2021, freezing his assets, and took off the air three television stations it said belonged to him for promoting Russian propaganda.
He was later charged and put under 24-hour house arrest, pending trial. However, the judge in the case allowed Medvedchuk to post bail and be released from house arrest.
Medvedchuk was placed under sanctions by the United States in 2014 for undermining democracy in Ukraine.
