"A planned act of political repression": Ukraine imposed sanctions against the leader of the opposition party Medvedchuk

The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine applied sanctions against 19 legal entities and eight individuals.

Restrictions included: Chairman of the Political Council of the Opposition Platform - For Life Party Viktor Medvedchuk, his wife Oksana Marchenko, Natalya Lavrenyuk, the common-law wife of Verkhovna Rada deputy from the OPLZ party Taras Kozak, who was previously also on the sanctions list, and Russian citizens Konstantin Vatskovsky, Valery Donchenko, Sergey Lisogor, Alexander Maslyuk and Mikhail Popov.

According to NSDC Secretary Alexei Danilov, restrictive measures are imposed on all their property and assets.

The SBU is conducting criminal proceedings against them under the article “financing of terrorism”.

Among the legal entities falling under the sanctions are companies from Russia, Moldova and other countries.

"Five companies that own aircraft that made direct flights from Kiev to Moscow, contrary to the current regulatory legal acts, have also come under sanctions today," UNIAN quotes him.

Let us remind you that members of the Opposition Platform - For Life Party have made numerous visits to Moscow.

So, in March, their delegation attended a meeting of the State Duma, while the leader of the PLO, Viktor Medvedchuk, met twice in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2020.

In addition, the NSDC instructed the government to take the necessary measures "to preserve and operate a part of the oil product pipelines with a total length of 1,433 km passing through the territory of Ukraine."

As noted by Danilov, we are talking about Prykarpatzapadtrans, which, according to Ukrainian media, belongs to Medvedchuk.

"According to Article 7 of the Law of Ukraine" On Pipeline Transport "," the main pipeline transport has an important national economic and defense significance and is the state property of Ukraine. "

Having considered this issue, the NSDC decided to take urgent measures to return the state property of the people of Ukraine.

Also, law enforcement agencies have been tasked with clarifying the circumstances under which state property ended up in private hands, ”reads a press release on the website of the President of Ukraine.

The "Opposition Platform - For Life" assessed the NSDC decision as "a planned act of political repression."

“This is the desire of Zelensky's dictatorial regime to settle scores with opposition leaders and strike a blow at the country's most rated political force.

There are no legal grounds for this extrajudicial killings, ”the statement said.

In their opinion, Volodymyr Zelenskyy turned into a "political bankrupt", as he lost the trust and support of Ukrainian citizens.

“Having failed to fulfill any of his election promises, entangled in the corruption and intrigues of his entourage, Volodymyr Zelenskyy began to destroy Ukrainian democracy.

Massive violations of the constitutional rights of Ukrainian citizens, the transformation of state bodies into a machine for repression, extrajudicial closings of channels, persecution of political opponents have become the last arguments of this weak and vindictive regime, ”the OLE said.

• © Press service of the President of Ukraine

Recall that on February 3, by decree of Volodymyr Zelensky, a resolution of the National Security and Defense Council on sanctions against a number of legal entities and the deputy of the Rada from the OPZZ party Taras Kozak was put into effect - he owns the Novosti media holding, as a result of which three TV channels - 112 Ukraine, ZIK and NEWSONE - members of the media holding.

After that, the "Opposition Platform - For Life" at the party congress condemned the "anti-constitutional and illegal actions" of the President of Ukraine, who blocked the work of television channels, and adopted a resolution on the beginning of the impeachment procedure for Volodymyr Zelensky.

On February 16, Ilya Kiva, a Rada deputy from the PLO, said that the collection of signatures for the impeachment of the president had started in the Ukrainian parliament.

In addition, Ukrainian journalist Alyona Berezovskaya, who interviewed Viktor Medvedchuk on the RT Russia YouTube channel, became another victim of the persecution of the Opposition Platform - For Life party.

The girl had to leave the country because she is accused of treason, terrorism and encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

“Now I am awaiting a decision from the SBU - whether a criminal case will be initiated or everything will remain at the level of verification.

If there is still a case, we will sue.

While I'm staying here in Russia, ”she said in an interview with RT.

"Tightening the dictatorship"

According to political scientist Ivan Mezyuho, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine made an unconstitutional decision.

He wondered how Kiev, in principle, imposed sanctions against its own citizens.

“This suggests that the head of the Ukrainian state is trying to radically change his rhetoric to openly Russophobic ... Even Poroshenko did not accept such unprecedented anti-legal norms.

I think that this shows the insides of the current Ukrainian government, after all, a democratic president would not have acted like that, "said the interlocutor of RT.

In turn, political scientist and economist Alexander Dudchak noted that Ukraine is witnessing a "tightening of the dictatorship."

“The authorities have completely lost their orientation in time and space, sanctions are being imposed on their citizens just for the fact that they have their own opinion, while the sanctions are being introduced under such wording that it is difficult to imagine that this could have been thought of. It is surprising that no one wants to notice such an unprecedented use of double standards. What the Ukrainian authorities are doing now is criminal activity, and they will someday have to answer, "he added in an interview with RT.