Zelenskyy strips Medvedchuk and three others of citizenship
A look back at the decision on treason grounds announced on 10 January 2023, alongside an Armenian move to postpone joint exercises with Russian forces.
What did Kyiv's decision on 10 January 2023 mean for one of its best-known pro-Kremlin politicians? Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy deprived Viktor Medvedchuk of his citizenship, along with three other people, on charges of high treason.
The move was listed among government reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Medvedchuk was described at the time as a pro-Kremlin politician. The reports named no further details about the three other individuals affected.
A separate development in Armenia
On the same date, Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that joint military exercises with the Russian Armed Forces, planned under the Collective Security Treaty Organization, would be postponed that year. He cited the organization's refusal to condemn Azerbaijan over the disputes between the two countries, in the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The two announcements were unconnected in the reports of 10 January 2023. Each, however, showed governments revisiting their relationships with Russia or with Russian-aligned figures: one through the removal of citizenship on treason grounds, the other through a postponed military exercise.
