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Kremlin seeks assurances Kiev’s case against opposition politician not witch-hunt or purge

Prominent Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk and member of parliament Taras Kozak have been charged with high treason

Leader of the opposition party Opposition Platform - For Life Viktor Medvedchuk Alexei Nikolsky/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

Leader of the opposition party Opposition Platform - For Life Viktor Medvedchuk

© Alexei Nikolsky/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

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‘Witch-hunt doomed to fail’: Medvedev blasts criminal case against Ukrainian opposition

MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/. The Kremlin has no plans to interfere in the situation around Chairman of Ukraine’s Political Council of the Opposition Platform - For Life party Viktor Medvedchuk but wants to be sure that it is not about a political witch-hunt, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

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Kremlin seeks assurances Ukrainian opposition figure’s case not politically motivated

"We are following the developments unfolding in Ukraine. We don’t intend to interfere in any way, but we want to be sure that it is not about a political witch-hunt or a purge aimed at getting rid of competing forces from the political field," Peskov pointed out.

The Kremlin press secretary emphasized that Russian President Vladimir Putin viewed Medvedchuk as a Ukrainian politician "who, unlike many others, believes in the need to normalize mutually beneficial relations between Russia and Ukraine." Peskov added that Putin and Medvedchuk "know each other, and they have met many times."

On Tuesday, Ukrainian police conducted searches at Medvedchuk's home and at the office of the Opposition Platform - For Life party. News emerged later that the politician and another member of parliament, Taras Kozak, had been charged with high treason and attempted embezzlement of Crimea’s national resources. Medvedchuk rejected the accusations as groundless. On May 13, Kiev’s Pechersky District Court placed him under house arrest until July 9. The politician said that he would make a decision on launching an appeal to fight the court’s ruling after consulting with his lawyers.

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