The famous wife of Vladimir Putin’s main ally in Ukraine has personally begged President Vladimir Zelensky to release him from captivity, claiming on Friday that he had been beaten and “persecuted for political reasons”.
Oksana Marchenko, a former X-Factor Ukraine TV star, made the first direct call Wednesday, a day after her husband, Putin’s longtime friend Viktor Medvedchuk, was detained in Kyiv for treason.
“President Zelenski, please take all necessary action to release my husband immediately,” she said, speaking directly to the camera in her YouTube appeal.
“There is no doubt that my husband is being persecuted for political reasons, contrary to Ukrainian law and international law,” she insisted on the 67-year-old oligarch and former leader of a pro-Russian opposition party.
On Friday, she made new appeals during a press conference in Moscow, insisting that her husband was a “political prisoner”.
“I have no doubt that my husband was beaten within hours of his capture,” Marchenko told a news conference without providing evidence.
Oksana Marchenko with her husband Viktor Medvedchuk. @ Oksana.marchenko.tv
“I am calling for help to stop the physical and mental torture,” she said.
She said she “unfortunately” did not hear Zelenski – and admitted that she did not expect it either.
“He does not answer such questions, he is his own law,” Marchenko added, according to the Russian agency TASS.
Oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk is handcuffed after being detained during a special operation conducted by the secret services of the SBU of Ukraine on April 12, 2022 in Ukraine. The press center of the Ukrainian president through the AP
Medvedchuk – named by Forbes last year as Ukraine’s 12th richest man with $ 620 million – was placed under house arrest last May on charges of treason.
In January, the United States also accused Medvedchuk of participating in Russian intelligence efforts to prepare friendly Ukrainian politicians to take control of the country with the support of the occupying forces.
According to Ukrainian police, he escaped from house arrest a few days after Putin invaded Ukraine in late February.
Viktor Medvedchuk with Russian President Vladimir Putin.ZUMAPRESS.com
Zelenski announced his arrest on Tuesday, showing him handcuffed – and sparked widespread celebrations.
“This is a symbolic event, similar to the capture of Goebbels, a great success from a moral and political point of view,” said Sergei Leshchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, referring to the head of Nazi propaganda.
“This is the man who received direct instructions and resources from Putin to prepare the ground for the invasion,” he said, according to AFP.
Marchenko is a former TV star, host of “X-Factor Ukraine” @ oksana.marchenko.tv
Medvedchuk and the Kremlin deny that he is pulling the strings for the Kremlin in Kyiv.
However, he does not hide his closeness to Putin, he even boasted that the war-torn president is the godfather of his youngest daughter Darina.
“We have a great relationship. It has been built for many years, “Medvedchuk told Agence France-Presse in 2019.
With postal wires
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