Viktor Medvedchuk, a fugitive who was the most prominent representative of pro-Russian political factions in Ukraine and a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been found and arrested by Ukraine's secret services.

A lawyer and wealthy Ukrainian businessman who served in political positions since the 1990s, Medvedchuk was placed under house arrest last year on charges of treason and terrorism financing, which he denies. 

He escaped a few days after Russia launched its military assault in Ukraine in late February. His party, Opposition Platform – For Life, along with several other smaller ones, have since been suspended for alleged ties to Russia. 

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"Pro-Russian traitors and agents of the Russian intelligence services, remember – your crimes have no statute of limitations," Ukraine's security service posted on social media with a photo of Medvedchuk in handcuffs.

The post cited Ivan Bakanov, head of the secret services, as saying his operatives had "conducted a lightning-fast and dangerous multi-level special operation" to arrest Medvedchuk, but did not give further details.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy touted his capture in an early morning address, where he proposed to swap Medvedchuk for prisoners of war being held by Russian forces. 

Speaking of Medvedchuk's alleged bid to evade security forces, Zelenskyy said he found it "especially cynical" of him to use military camouflage to try and escape: "What a 'soldier'. What a 'patriot'. Well, if Medvedchuk chose a military uniform for himself, he falls under the rules of wartime."

In response to Medvedchuk's capture, the Kremlin said the prisoner did not have any communication back-channel to the Russian leadership. As for Zelenskyy's proposal to swap him for Russia's prisoners, Moscow pointed out that Medvedchuk was a Ukrainian citizen and a foreign politician. 

However, Medvedchuk does represent a special role in Ukrainian and Russian political life. Here are the facts about the 67-year-old:

• Born in Russia, Medvedchuk has regularly been photographed with Putin, whom he calls a personal friend. He also says Putin is the godfather to his youngest daughter, Daryna.

• Medvedchuk was chief of staff for Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma between 2002 and 2005. He was an opponent of Kuchma's pro-Western successor Viktor Yushchenko, and an ally of Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine's last pro-Russian president, who was ousted during the Maidan uprising in 2014.

• In 2008, Ukrainian Focus magazine estimated Medvedchuk's wealth at $460 million. His investments include energy, resources and media.

• Medvedchuk was a member of Ukraine's negotiating team for the exchange of prisoners during its conflict with Russia in eastern Ukraine in 2014, playing a central role in peace negotiations.

• In 2014, the U.S. put Medvedchuk on its sanctions list over his alleged role in the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea. In 2021, Ukrainian authorities charged Medvedchuk for his alleged involvement in financing separatists in the east, and seized his assets. He denies both charges.

• According to Ukrainian authorities, Medvedchuk was involved in the illegal sale of coal from separatist-controlled territories in Luhansk and Donetsk. 

• Last year, Ukraine closed several television channels which the media associated with Medvedchuk and nationalized an oil products pipeline he owned.

• In May 2021, Medvedchuk was placed under house arrest and charged with high treason and later with aiding terrorism.

• Medvedchuk told the UK's Independent newspaper in 2018 that he and Putin shared "close worldviews." However, "Putin thinks we are one nation, but I think it's not one nation, but two Slavic nations, with intertwined histories, religion," he said of Ukraine and Russia. "I tell him this all the time. I don't think it's one nation. You simply can't say this."