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08:45 18 May 2021

Bihus.Info publishes new recordings of Medvedchuk's conversations. In 2014, he told Russians and militants about his contacts with Poroshenko

Investigative journalists for the Bihus.Info project said they had access to dozens of hours of recordings of conversations between the head of the Opposition Platform for Life political council and Putin's fellow sponsor, Viktor Medvedchuk, who testified about his ties to Russian officials and militants.

This is stated in the story of Bihus.Info.

According to journalists, the Security Service of Ukraine has had records of Medvedchuk's telephone conversations since 2014. At the same time, Bihus.Info doesn't disclose its sources they received records from. So far, journalists have published the first part of the recordings about Medvedchuk's ties with Petro Poroshenko, militants, and Russian officials.

About negotiations with militants and Poroshenko

The records show that since June 2014, Medvedchuk "registered" in the Administration of the then-President and negotiated with the militants on its behalf. In a conversation with one of the leaders of the "Luhansk People's Republic," Oleksii Kariakin, Medvedchuk said at the time: "I'm doing all this at the request of Putin and at the request of Poroshenko, but I have nothing to do with Poroshenko and these official actions."

At the same time, Medvedchuk began to influence the militants in May 2014, when he made his first visit to the DNR. Later, in a conversation with "Dima" (Bihus.Info claims that he's the curator of the NGO "Ukrainian Choice" Dmytro Doroshenko), Medvedchuk instructs him to probe the ground to establish direct contacts.

From the analyzed conversations, Bihus.Info concludes that the role of the negotiator with "DNR" and "LNR" was determined for Medvedchuk in the Kremlin. At the same time, the Ukrainian authorities at least didn't object to this, and, according to Putin's sponsor, they met with Poroshenko, sometimes in the evening and at night.

порошенко медведчук

Medvedchuk assured in the talks that he was able to influence the President of Ukraine. Thus, in a conversation in June 2014, the aforementioned Kariakin threatened to destroy a column of Ukrainian armored vehicles if its advancing was not stopped. Medvedchuk says he'll pass it on to Poroshenko. At the same time, no demands were passed from the Ukrainian party.

Bihus.Info claims that despite Medvedchuk's alleged proximity to Putin and his appointment as a negotiator with the DNR and LNR, the chairperson of the OPZZH political council communicates mainly with officials from the Russian president's administration. Medvedchuk has been seeking a meeting with Putin for weeks.

порошенко медведчук

In this way, Medvedchuk created the impression that he was capable of influencing something in the Kremlin and Putin personally, when in fact his influence was rather limited. He even discussed the points of the so-called peace plan, which the Ukrainian side presented in June 2014, in conversations with DNR and LNR militants.

Ukrainian troops for Medvedchuk are "not our guys"

In order to "legalize" Medvedchuk's entry into the Donbas talks, an urgent message appeared on the Kremlin's website, in which Vladimir Putin welcomed his sponsor's participation in them. And on June 23, Medvedchuk appears at the talks, declared as a representative of his NGO "Ukrainian Choice."

It was not clear which side he represented: Ukraine was officially represented by Leonid Kuchma, Russia and the militants also disowned Medvedchuk. But the next day, June 24, Medvedchuk called the Ukrainian troops "not our guys" in a conversation with Kariakin (the leader of the "Luhansk People's Republic").

порошенко медведчук

Another episode quoted by Bihus.Info journalists concerns the events of July 2014, when militants shot down two Ukrainian military planes. On July 17, Medvedchuk called one of the "DNR" leaders, Oleksandr Borodai, and complained that "50 people were attacking Rinat Akhmetov's house."

A few hours after the conversation, a Malaysian Boeing would be shot down in the occupied Donbas, killing all 298 passengers and crew.

In October 2014, Medvedchuk was discussing the results of the parliamentary elections in Ukraine with the Russian side. In particular, in a conversation with the head of Putin's protocol Vladimir Ostrovenko, he said that "there will be a war" between Poroshenko and Yatseniuk because of a small gap in the results.

порошенко медведчук

In November 2014, Medvedchuk discussed with Russian officials, such as then-Putin aide Vladislav Surkov and Russian Ambassador Mikhail Zurabov, draft laws on Donbas, including the status of a free economic zone for the "DNR" and "LNR."

Bihus.Info suggests that Medvedchuk could've influenced the adoption of many favorable Russian laws. Journalists announced the publication of several other recordings of Putin's sponsor: about business in the occupied territories, participation in the exchange of prisoners, and the seizure of an oil pipeline in the Carpathians.

As Rubryka reported, on May 12, Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova signed a notice of suspicion under Art. 111 (treason) of the Criminal Code. She also signed the suspicion of another deputy from OPZZH Dmytro Kozak.

At present, Viktor Medvedchuk is under house arrest.

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