President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky proposed that the journalists ask Viktor Medvedchuk, chairman of the political council of the Opposition Bloc – For Life party, why he was negotiating with Russian-controlled militants to release Ukrainian prisoners held in the occupied Donbas.
Answering a question of a UNIAN correspondent at today's press conference in Kyiv, Zelensky said: "I have never in my life, as president of Ukraine and, in fact, in general, spoken with Mr. Medvedchuk. This is true."
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"If we have a country, a big, independent, self-sufficient Ukraine, I don't understand why we should have intermediaries. He is aware of my attitude to the issue. That is, it is not about some personalities – this is a very important question. Why the question of the return of prisoners is being raised, why the question of ending the war is being raised on his part only ahead of elections. Ask him," the president stressed.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin's political operative in Ukraine, Viktor Medvedchuk, said that on Wednesday in Minsk, he held direct talks with the militant leaders with the aim of freeing four Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Russian media reported that on June 28 in Minsk, militants will hand over to Medvedchuk four captured Ukrainians.
