Fugitive Ukrainian oligarch close to Putin detained

Viktor Medvedchuk was the former leader of the pro-Russian party Opposition Platform – For Life.

Vladimir Putin is the godfather to Viktor Medvedchuk’s youngest daughter. Picture: Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File

Fugitive Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, who is both the former leader of a pro-Russian opposition party and a close associate of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, has been detained in a special operation carried out by the country’s SBU secret service, Ukrainian officials said.

Ivan Bakanov, the head of Ukraine’s national security agency, said on the agency’s Telegram channel that Mr Medvedchuk had been arrested.