The operation to evacuate Verkhovna Rada Member Viktor Medvedchuk (Opposition Platform - For Life faction) to Russia was prepared by the Russian Federal Security Service using his doubles.
The head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) Ivan Bakanov said this on the air of the national telethon, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
Bakanov said that the special operation to detain Medvedchuk was difficult and dangerous for many of its participants and it lasted more than a month in military conditions.
"A lot of analytical, operational, intelligence work was done, which led the SSU to Medvedchuk and made it possible to successfully complete the special operation. We were opposed not just by Mr. Medvedchuk. On the opposite side was a very powerful opponent, whose name was the FSB, which sought to take Putin's godfather abroad. At the same time, the Russian special services attracted the leaders of the underworld of our state and, unfortunately, corrupt law enforcement officers to implement their plan. The FSB used every opportunity to disguise its plans, threw misinformation about Medvedchuk's evacuation routes... They even prepared pseudo-Medvedchuks," he said.
The head of the SSU said that Medvedchuk, under the guise of the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, allegedly, accompanied by fellow law enforcement officers, wanted to be taken to the Ukrainian border and transported there by boat across the river to Transnistria, where an FSB special forces evacuation group was already waiting for him.
"They arrived at the appropriate point to deliver Medvedchuk through the river directly to Moscow after crossing. But thanks to the SSU, they failed to implement this plan. Counterintelligence of the SSU calculated dozens of versions, clearly clarified the route and place of arrival of the evacuation group of the FSB of Russia to the so-called Transnistrian Moldavian Republic. This allowed SSU operatives and investigators to detain Medvedchuk on the way from our capital closer to the borders of Kyiv region or at the exit from Kyiv region," he said.
Bakanov said that all this time Medvedchuk was accompanied by Ukrainian law enforcement officers who will be responsible for their actions.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on Tuesday, April 12, in the evening, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the Telegram channel that Medvedchuk was detained during a special operation by the Security Service of Ukraine.
He accompanied this message with a photo of Medvedchuk in camouflage in handcuffs.
In an evening video address, Zelenskyy clarified that Medvedchuk was detained while trying to flee abroad.
Zelenskyy is in favor of exchanging detained Medvedchuk for Ukrainians taken prisoner by Russia.
In mid-March, Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova announced that Medvedchuk, who was put on the wanted list, had not officially crossed the border.
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