In the photo: Victor Medvedchuk with his Russian ally
“The solution to the question of ending the war lies in the office of one man. And this man is Vladimir Putin. No agreements will work unless this man decides to end the war which they have been waging for seven years now. Putin is the only man who can end the war. The entire world knows it”, Oleksiy Danylov, the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said on February 19. He also noted that the only task of the Kremlin is to destroy Ukraine.
On the same day, the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) held a meeting that was chaired by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The meeting decided to impose sanctions on 19 companies and eight persons for the term of three years. One of these persons is Viktor Medvedchuk, a people’s deputy from the pro-Russian party “Opposition Platform For Life” and the head of the party political council, and also his wife Oksana Marchenko.
At a news briefing that followed the NSDC meeting, Danylov said that the sanctions against the eight individuals are connected with the criminal investigation into cases of terrorism financing conducted by the Security Service of Ukraine. The sanctions “are based on the provided documents and a video which testify to the illegal terrorist activity of the persons mentioned above”, concluded Danylov.
The other six individuals are the trusted people from the immediate milieu of Medvedchuk and Marchenko while the 19 legal entities that have fallen under the sanctions are connected with them in one way or the other. NSDC Secretary Danylov clarified, “These entities are the companies that have been registered in Russia, Moldova and other countries. In particular, the sanctions have been imposed on those companies which have served five airplanes that, in violation of the law, have made regular flights from Kyiv to Moscow”.
As for the individuals, the sanctions are imposed on all their property which is currently in their possession.
According to the Ukrainian media, Oksana Marchenko, the wife of Medvedchuk, owns 75% of the shares for an oil refinery in the Rostov Region, Russia. The refinery provides militants in the Kremlin-occupied districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions with petroleum products.
Danylov also informed that the NSDC meeting had ruled to return to state ownership the 1433-km-long oil product pipeline which through fictitious persons belonged to Medvedchuk.
In early February, the National Security and Defense Council imposed sanctions against three pro-Russian propaganda television channels which also belonged to Medvedchuk, as the investigation has shown.
Besides, the NSDC declared war on those oligarchs and politicians who had been robbing Ukraine since 1991. According to Danylov, the Council plans to impose sanctions against a number of Ukrainian politicians and Parliament members who have never done any business officially but have nevertheless made huge fortunes. Danylov promised that all financial and material resources that had been stolen from the people during all the years of independence of Ukraine would be returned to the state. He also said that the information would soon be made public about those people’s deputies who have businesses in Russia and who travel to Moscow on a regular basis.
As the Office of the President informs, the meeting of the NDSC also discussed issues involving the worsening situation in Donbas. A string of decisions have been made that are not to be disclosed due to secrecy.
Most Ukrainian politicians, public figures and analysts evaluated the decision of the NDSC in a positive way. “Putin’s ally has declared outlaw in Ukraine. All economic, political and information activities of the chief Russian agent are blocked in Ukraine”, wrote well-known journalist Butusov. Political analyst Fesenko maintains that the imposition of the sanctions is also a prophylactic signal to other pro-Russian forces that are active in Ukraine. Deputy Interior Minister Anton Herashchenko believes that the decision about introducing the sanctions makes Ukraine a truly independent country from Russia.
Leonid Kravchuk, the first president of Ukraine, had this to say about the decision of the NSDC, “We, as a state that fights the enemy, must act in accordance with our laws and the Constitution. And it is not about Medvedchuk only. This applies to all. I know how many enemies there are in Ukraine. The enemy is the one who prevents us from living and working normally”.
The United States has welcomed the decision of the NSDC about the imposition of the sanctions. “We support Ukraine's efforts to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity through sanctions. Viktor Medvedchuk has been under U.S. sanctions since 2014 for undermining Ukraine’s security, territorial integrity, and democratic institutions”, says the announcement of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine.
As it should be expected, the party “Opposition Platform For Life” has declared that the sanctions “are a planned act of political repressions”. In the Kremlin, they also do not hide their open annoyance at the decision of the leadership of Ukraine. Thus, Dmitri Medvedev, the former president and the ex-premier of Russia, compared the decision of the NDSC with “actions of the inquisition”. Dmitri Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian President, said that Moscow is very concerned that “the reactionary tendency is gaining strength in Ukraine”, which allegedly “makes the situation in south-eastern Ukraine even more uneasy”.
Against the background of these Kremlin statements, of special importance are the words of support said by U.S. President Biden while speaking at the 57th Munich Security Conference held on February 19, “Putin seeks to weaken European — the European project and our NATO Alliance. He wants to undermine the transatlantic unity and our resolve, because it’s so much easier for the Kremlin to bully and threaten individual states than it is to negotiate with a strong and closely united transatlantic community. That’s why standing up for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine remains a vital concern for Europe and the United States”.
The newspaper Voice of Ukraine
