Russian President Putin approved the past large exchange of prisoners with Ukraine despite the objections of the FSB, which understood the negative reputational consequences. The leader of the Russian Federation paid great attention to the defense of Viktor Medvedchuk, a deputy of the banned OPZZh, who is accused of treason in Ukraine.
The Washington Post writes about this with reference to American and Ukrainian officials familiar with this issue.
A high-ranking official of the State Department called the release of Medvedchuk indicative since the Russian Federation agreed to hand over to Ukraine the fighters and commanders of the "Azov" regiment, who were labeled "cruel Nazis" in the Russian Federation. Even Russian propagandists were extremely surprised by such an exchange.
Andrew Weiss, the researcher of Russia and author of a forthcoming biography of Putin, said the Medvedchuk exchange coincided with Putinʼs practice of "encouraging loyalty."
"Putin is known to have a very sentimental streak, and he stays loyal to people well past their sell-by date," he said.
- On the night of September 22, Ukraine exchanged prisoners with Russia. Ukraine returned 215 defenders of Mariupol, including the commanders of the "Azov" regiment, and Putinʼs godfather Viktor Medvedchuk and 55 Russian soldiers were returned to Russia.
- Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said that the pre-trial investigation of Medvedchuk was completed before the exchange with Russia. The Security Service of Ukraine stated that his exchange does not prevent further court proceedings and the adoption of court decisions.