In 2022, Russia officially did not request the exchange of one of the leaders of the Opposition Platform — For Life (OPZZH) Viktor Medvedchuk. The request for his exchange was made by the so-called Ministry of State Security of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).
At the same time, the former MP and president of the Motor Sich corporation Vyacheslav Bohuslayev, who is under arrest for treason, is not of any interest to Russia. This was reported by Head of the Secretariat of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War Bohdan Okhrimenko in an interview with Ukrinform.
“By the way, Russia officially did not request Medvedchuk’s exchange… In unofficial negotiations, the Russian side never officially requested him. Russia could not show interest in Medvedchuk, as it would demonstrate Putin’s weakness. That’s why they sent the request through the so-called Ministry of State Security of the quasi-republic DPR,” said Okhrimenko.
“And there is no such thing for Bohuslayev. To understand their position, this shows that Russia is doing dirty work through others,” the Head of the Coordination Headquarters added.
He also noted that the Russians are not interested in Russian soldiers convicted in Ukraine for war crimes, including Vadim Shishimarin, the first soldier convicted for killing a civilian.
Russia is also not interested in nearly 300 collaborators and traitors who, within the “I want to go home” project, expressed a desire to be exchanged, reported a representative of the Coordination Headquarters.
As a reminder, in the fall of 2022, a prisoner exchange took place between Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine received 215 prisoners, including many officers and defenders of Azovstal in Mariupol. Russia received Viktor Medvedchuk and 55 of its soldiers.
On October 23, 2022, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) detained former MP and president of the Motor Sich corporation Vyacheslav Bohuslayev and the head of the external economic department of Motor Sich on suspicion of collaboration and assisting Russia.
The detention took place within a criminal case regarding the illegal supply of military goods from Motor Sich to the Russian assault aviation.
Preventive measures in the form of detention were chosen for the suspects.
In October 2023, the SSU handed Bohuslayev’s case over o court and arrested his assets worth more than 12 billion hryvnias. He is still in custody.
In December 2024, Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court applied sanctions to Bohuslayev and seized his property for the state, including buildings and facilities of the industrial complex in Zaporizhzhia region and a 100% share in the authorized capital of INNOVA LLC.
