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Russia's President Putin
Photo: SERGEY ILYIN / KREMLIN / SPUTNIK POOL / EPA
Relations between Russia and Ukraine are tense.
Now a ruling in Kiev is causing anger in the Kremlin.
After the Ukrainian judiciary took action against pro-Russian politicians, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin accused the neighboring state of "political cleansing."
"Judging by everything, Ukraine is slowly but surely being turned into an anti-Russia," Putin said.
The 68-year-old listed the closure of TV channels and the crackdown on opposition members because of cooperation with Russia, but did not name any names.
You will respond to this "in good time and appropriately".
The day before, a Kiev court had put Putin's confidante Viktor Medvedchuk under house arrest on charges of high treason.
The MP is being investigated for allegedly disclosing military secrets to Moscow.
The 66-year-old denies the allegations and spoke of repression.
Zelenskyi defends the action
President Volodymyr Zelenskyi defended his actions against Medvedchuk as a fight against the oligarchs. "With the help of legal instruments, Medvedchuk was deprived of the opportunity to use the media and state property to openly strike the country and do ruinous damage to the security of the state," wrote the 43-year-old in a column. The oligarchs should stay out of politics.
In February Zelenskyi closed three news channels attributed to Medvedchuk.
In addition, sanctions were imposed on the opposition member, his wife and his parliamentary colleague Taras Kosak for allegedly financing terrorism.
Medvedchuk and Cossack belong to the Party Opposition Bloc for Life, which seeks to normalize relations with Russia.
It is the second largest group.
Since the annexation of the Crimean peninsula by Russia in 2014 and the support of eastern Ukrainian separatists by the Kremlin, the relationship between the two ex-Soviet republics has been shattered.
asc / dpa