Wife of Putin ally detained in Ukraine asks Zelensky to release him
The famous woman is the main ally of Vladimir Putin in Ukraine. He personally appealed to President Volodymyr Zelensky for his release from captivity, claiming that he was beaten and “persecuted for political reasons” on Friday.
Oksana Marchenko – the former TV star who hosted the show “X-Factor Ukraine” – made the plea on air on Wednesday, a day after her husband Putin’s pal Victor Medvedchuk was arrested in Kyiv for treason.
She said, speaking directly to the camera in her YouTube appeal.
“There is no doubt that my husband is being persecuted for political reasons, in violation of the laws of Ukraine and international law,” urged the 67-year-old oligarch and former leader of a pro-Russian opposition party.
New calls came out at a press conference in Moscow, she said Friday, insisting her husband is a “political prisoner.”
“I have no doubt that my husband was beaten within hours of his arrest,” Marchenko said at the press conference, without providing evidence.
“I am asking for help to stop the physical and psychological torture,” she said.
She said she had “unfortunately” heard nothing from Zelensky – and admitted she wasn’t expecting it.
“He does not answer such questions, this is his own law,” Marchenko said via the Russian news agency TASS.
Medvedchuk – brought to you by Forbes last year, the 12th person in the list of the richest person in Ukraine, worth $620 million – was placed under house arrest last May, on charges of “high treason”.
In January, the United States accused Medvedchuk of participating in efforts by Russian intelligence agencies to prepare his fellow Ukrainian politicians to take control of the country with the support of the occupying forces.
According to Ukrainian police, he escaped house arrest a few days after Putin invaded Ukraine in late February.
Zelensky announced his arrest on Tuesday, which showed him somber and demure — and sparked widespread celebrations.
“It is a symbolic event, like the capture of Goebbels, a great success from a moral and political point of view,” he said. Sergei Leshchenko, Adviser to the Presidency of Ukraine. In reference to the head of Nazi propaganda.
According to Agence France-Presse, he claimed, “This is the man who received direct instructions and resources from Putin to prepare the country for invasion.”
Medvedchuk and the Kremlin deny that he controlled the Kremlin in Kyiv.
However, he did not hide his close relationship with Putin, even boasting that the warrior president is the godfather of his youngest daughter Darina.
“We have a great relationship. It has been built over many years,” Medvedchuk told AFP in 2019.
with wire
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