Ukraine’s detention of oligarch close to Putin angers Moscow

By YURAS KARMANAU
Associated Press

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — The detention of fugitive Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, the former leader of a pro-Russian opposition party and a close associate of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, has been met with enthusiasm in Kyiv and irritation in Moscow. Analysts say he will become a valuable pawn in the Russia-Ukraine talks to end the devastating war that the Kremlin has unleashed on its neighbor. Medvedchuk was detained Tuesday in a special operation carried out by the country’s state security service. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has proposed that Russia could win Medvedchuk’s freedom by trading him for Ukrainians now held captive by the Russians. The oligarch’s detention has sparked a heated exchange between officials in Moscow and Kyiv.