Viktor Medvedchuk. Archive photoMOSCOW, May 23.The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said that the opposition deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Viktor Medvedchuk, detained by the department, claims that the former president of the country, Petro Poroshenko, was the initiator of the illegal privatization of the Samara-Western Direction pipeline and the coal trade with the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. Medvedchuk was previously detained by the SBU on suspicion of treason and assistance to terrorism, which, according to the investigation, consisted in the purchase of coal in the DPR and LPR. Medvedchuk himself stated that he considers the criminal cases opened against him to be political persecution.The Ukrainian media learned the name of Medvedchuk's ally detained by the SBU» Describing the essence of the scheme (privatization of the oil pipeline), Medvedchuk detailed the role of former President Petro Poroshenko in it. Namely, that he not only turned to Medvedchuk with a request to contact the leadership of the Russian Federation, but also ensured that the necessary decisions were made in all Ukrainian instances,» the SBU's Telegram channel said. The courts, the prosecutor's office, the antimonopoly committee, the state property fund made decisions to make this pipeline Poroshenko's private property, the SBU says, referring to Medvedchuk's statement. The SBU also stated that the detainee revealed the details of debugging in 2014-2015 the mechanism for purchasing coal for the needs of Ukraine's energy in the DPR and LPR. The entire top of the Ukrainian state apparatus was involved in the scheme, «starting with the president and ending with ministers, law enforcement officers and directly implemented this scheme,» the SBU quoted Medvedchuk as saying. According to the Ukrainian department, in total, under the leadership of Poroshenko, Kyiv bought coal from Donetsk and Luhansk in the amount of 200 million hryvnia, which at that time was about 8 million dollars. In April, the Security Service of Ukraine announced the arrest of the head of the political council of the Opposition Platform — For Life party Medvedchuk on behalf of Vladimir Zelensky. On October 8, 2021, Ukrainian law enforcement officers announced a new suspicion of treason and assistance to terrorism to Medvedchuk. According to the head of the SBU, in 2014 Medvedchuk organized the supply of coal from the territory of Donbas not controlled by Kyiv in collusion with the top leadership of Ukraine. Another case has been opened against Medvedchuk in Ukraine — the politician and his party ally Taras Kozak are suspected of treason and embezzlement of national resources in Crimea. Rada want to deprive Medvedchuk, Kozak and Rabinovich of deputy mandates
