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Ukraine's intelligence service has arrested Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin's closest ally in Ukrainian politics, oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk.
The big businessman and politician has been a key figure in the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv for years.
As a deputy, he headed the main pro-Russian opposition group in Ukraine.
According to Medvedchuk, Putin is the godfather of his youngest daughter.
In a speech late Tuesday evening, Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested exchanging the detainee for Ukrainians in Russian captivity.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine
»
I find it particularly cynical that he uses military camouflage.
He tried to camouflage himself like that.
What a soldier!
What a patriot!
Well, if Medvedchuk chose a military uniform for himself, then he falls under the rules of war.
I propose to the Russian Federation to exchange this man for our boys and girls who are now in Russian captivity.
It is therefore important that our law enforcement agencies and military also consider this possibility.”
Meanwhile, new satellite images from the US company Maxar from Monday and Tuesday show how the Russian military convoy is moving towards eastern Ukraine.
According to information from Kyiv, the besieged city of Mariupol was again the target of Russian air raids on Wednesday night.
Hardly any other city has been shelled by Putin's troops as massively as the port city in south-eastern Ukraine.
According to the mayor, the emergency services have stopped counting the bodies.
President Zelenskyy commented on the words of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin that the war, called "special operations" in Russia, was going according to plan.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine
»
Today in Russia it was once again said that their so-called special operation is allegedly going according to plan.
But, to be honest, nobody in the world understands how such a plan could have come about in the first place.
How could a plan come about that would see the deaths of tens of thousands of their own soldiers in just over a month of war?
Who could authorize such a plan?
And what level of personal losses is ultimately acceptable for this person?
Dozens or hundreds of thousands of dead Russians?”
The city of Kharkov in eastern Ukraine continued to be shelled by Russian artillery.
The local authorities warn the population of land mines that are said to have been dropped on the city.
US President Biden accused Vladimir Putin of genocide over the atrocities in Ukraine.
Joe Biden, US President
»
Yes, I called it a genocide because it is becoming increasingly clear that Putin is trying to simply erase the idea of being Ukrainian.
And the evidence is piling up.
A little different than last week.
But more and more evidence is coming to light about the terrible things the Russians did in Ukraine.«
In Mariupol, more than 100,000 people are waiting to be evacuated.
As of today, Ukraine sees no possibility of escape corridors through which the civilian population could leave the city and other besieged places in the east.