Summary
Ukraine says it has arrested one of President Putin’s allies and is interested in a prisoner swap. Viktor Medvedchuk had been under house arrest in Kyiv but escaped when the Russian invasion began. James Landale joins Victoria to discuss whether a swap is likely.
There's also an update from Hussain who fled from Kherson. He’s been helping other people escape from the same city - we speak to one of them. And a Belgian doctor explains how he helped transport 80 orphans across Ukraine to a safer place.
Today's episode was made by Phil Marzouk and Chris Flynn. The technical director was Emma Crowe. The assistant editors were Alison Gee and Sam Bonham.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:04.8 | Hello, it's the 49th day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. |
| 0:08.6 | And Ukraine says it has arrested a man called Victor Medvedchuk, |
| 0:13.4 | a fugitive politician, a politician on the run, |
| 0:17.0 | seen as President Vladimir Putin's closest ally in Ukraine. |
| 0:23.0 | So, President Zelensky said this man was in military camouflage |
| 0:27.6 | when he was arrested. |
| 0:29.2 | And he offered to exchange him for Ukrainians who were in Russian captivity. |
| 0:47.2 | So, when it comes to conflict, James, our prisoner swaps a thing. |
| 0:53.2 | Yeah, they can be a thing, but it's quite rare for one individual |
| 0:57.2 | to be swapped for a group of others. |
| 1:00.8 | Normally, it tends to be numbers of parity in certain circumstances |
| 1:05.8 | when both sides has a significant number of people who want to swap. |
| 1:09.8 | And individuals tend to be swapped for other individuals. |
| 1:13.2 | You think of the great spies, exchanges in the past. |
| 1:16.2 | Whether or not President Zelensky is serious about this idea of what remains to be seen. |
| 1:22.2 | Who is this guy? |
| 1:23.2 | But the point he's making is that this guy matters. |
| 1:25.2 | This guy is Putin's guy in Ukraine. |
| 1:29.0 | Putin is Godfather to this guy's daughter. |
| 1:32.6 | And the images that we've seen today of this incredibly wealthy man, |
| 1:37.8 | an oligarch, disheveled, shackled. |
... |
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