Four Medvedchuk accomplices found guilty of conspiracy to overthrow Ukrainian government in coup synched with invasion
Four people described as accomplices to the pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk have been found guilty of conspiracy to stage a coup in Ukraine. A Ukrainian court sentenced all four defendants to prison terms ranging from five to 10 years.
The Security Service of Ukraine publicized the verdict on Telegram, describing one of the defendants as a Russian national and former military intelligence officer who had been “directly in touch” with members of the Russian security services and the Putin administration. According the the court’s website, he was sentenced to 10 years in absentia.
The prosecution established that the defendants planned to “synchronize” a violent coup in Kyiv with the start of the Russian invasion. The conspiracy, it was argued, relied on certain public organizations that would form a national assembly, yielding a “resolution” to oust the current government from power.
If this scenario failed, a 500-strong armed unit was supposed to push the plan through by force.
Viktor Medvedchuk had been Ukraine’s most prominent pro-Russian politician prior to being charged with high treason in 2021. After escaping from under house arrest and being detained again, Medvedchuk was finally handed over to Russia in September 2022, in a high-profile prisoner exchange.
