Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, told Radio NV that law enforcement officers will find out how Viktor Medvedchuk, MP from OPZZH, became "the most powerful media oligarch" from 2015 to 2018.

"I think that Medvedchuk is testifying very intensively today and we will establish everything. We will establish a lot in general. As Medvedchuk (who was at the bottom, no one remembered him) from 2015 to 2018 became the most powerful media oligarch. I hope that we will be able to get answers as to who helped him become an oligarch in both the media and energy sectors in Ukraine. It is impossible without help (and not only help from the Russian side)," Podoliak said.

Asked if he was hinting at the help of then-President Petro Poroshenko, the adviser said he was not hinting, but "we need to get specific legally recorded testimony from Medvedchuk" and then "discuss the names he will mention."

"Nobody needed Medvedchuk, neither here nor there. This is how the circumstances of 2015−2018 turned out: due to ties in Ukraine, he proved to Russia that he can influence something here. They saw that his media, political and business activities were growing.

As I understand it, the Russians today want to get rid of all these "promising" entities, like Medvedchuk, who misled them very, very much. Russia, using Medvedchuk, thought that 80% of Ukraine's people were pro-Russian. That's what Medvedchuk told them, right? There are also such subjects as [Evheny] Muraev - the same, but even more aggressive, talkative. It also ran to Moscow and something there said that they have 80% pro-Russian control.

I want us to understand that these are very small people and the Russians do not need them. It may be necessary to settle some accounts with them. To issue a bill to Medvedchuk and say: "Friend, we poured you so much money, but where is this money? Return it," Podoliak added.

It should be noted that until February 2021, the so-called channels of Medvedchuk's group - 112 Ukraine, NewsOne and ZIK – formally belonged to Medvedchuk's colleague Taras Kozak. The National Security and Defense Council imposed sanctions and banned the broadcasting of these channels. President Zelensky and SBU Chairman Ivan Bakanov called the decision a struggle for truth and European values, as well as a step in the fight against Russian hybrid aggression. Taras Kozak called the actions of the National Security and Defense Council illegal, and the decision on sanctions an act of censorship.

Viktor Medvedchuk disappeared in February 2022, when he was under house arrest on charges of treason. His lawyers said he was in Kyiv, but in a "safe place." On March 8, the Opposition Platform For Life (OPZZH) removed him from the post of political council chairman.

On March 18, the Lychakiv District Court of Lviv arrested Medvedchuk in absentia. On April 12, the MP was detained while trying to flee Ukraine. According to the SBU, Russia’s FSB tried to take him out of the country.