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Exiled Medvedchuk considers himself Ukrainian politician, has no Russian citizenship

The politician emphasized that the termination of his citizenship was illegitimate because that can be done only at the request of a citizen

MOSCOW, January 26. /TASS/. Exiled opposition leader Viktor Medvedchuk, who is currently in Russia, has asserted that he considers himself a Ukrainian politician and does not have Russian citizenship.

"He [Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky] went the way of complete recklessness and insanity by stripping me of my citizenship because I was suspected of having Russian citizenship. I have never had Russian citizenship because there is no need, because I am a Ukrainian politician, was one and still am today," he said in an interview with the RT TV channel published on Thursday.

Medvedchuk specified that he still has a Ukrainian passport. The politician emphasized that the termination of his citizenship was illegitimate because that can be done only at the request of a citizen.

On January 10, Zelensky decreed to revoke the citizenship of opposition politicians Medvedchuk, Taras Kozak, Renat Kuzmin and Andrey Derkach. On January 13, the Verkhovna Rada passed resolutions on the early termination of their deputy powers.

Ukraine has long been engaged in political persecution of Medvedchuk, who served as head of the political council of the country's now-banned Opposition Platform - For Life party. On April 12, 2022, Zelensky reported that Medvedchuk had been detained. He was charged with high treason and the violation of the laws of war. In late September, Medvedchuk left Ukraine as part of a detainee swap.