MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/. Chairman of the United Russia party and Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev has excoriated the criminal case against leader of the Ukrainian political party, Opposition Platform - For Life, Viktor Medvedchuk and member of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament) Taras Kozak as a witch-hunt, which is doomed to failure.

"Threatening two politicians with real jail time for mythical crimes will not be able to boost the approval ratings of current officials. On the contrary, this will lead to the further degradation of the system of government and exacerbate its political dementia," the press service of the United Russia party quotes him as saying.

Medvedev advised Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and "his friends" to tackle "domestic and external issues, which are quite numerous in Ukraine rather than waste time on a witch-hunt that, given the opinion of a large number of Ukrainian citizens who support Viktor Medvedchuk and his party, is doomed to fail."

"Especially, if [Zelensky] does not want the people to remember him as just a comedy series actor," he added.

According to Medvedev, the charges against Medvedchuk and Kozak are completely unfounded, while the sanctions slapped on the leader of the Opposition Platform - For Life party are absolutely illegal from the point of view of international law. "However, if there is a persistent, maniacal desire by the ruling regime to remain in power, then an idiotic excuse can always be concocted. Fortunately, as far as experience in preparing stand-up comedies goes, it is quite good," Medvedev emphasized.

Absurd charges

Medvedev noted that the charges related, in particular, to the alleged embezzlement of Ukraine’s national resources in Crimea, although that wording is absurd because of the choice made by Crimea’s residents in 2014. "It is pointless to remind the Ukrainian authorities and their Western bosses that Crimea is not part of Ukraine, according to the legitimate will of its residents," he noted, confidently stating that "Kiev couldn’t care less about Crimea."

He stressed that politicians like Medvedchuk were seen as undesirables in Ukraine’s establishment. "Of course, they are even more out of favor in the West, which supports anti-Russian policies everywhere and in everything, and turns a blind eye to that crackdown with its collective silence, ignoring at the same time the mockery of law and justice," he concluded.