Ukrainian opposition politician Viktor Medvedchuk has escaped house arrest, Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said in a statement.
Medvedchuk, the leader of Ukraine's Opposition Platform – For Life party, had been under house arrest since last year after the authorities opened a treason case against him. Medvedchuk, a pro-Russian figure who says Russian President Vladimir Putin is godfather to his daughter, denies wrongdoing.
"I have no confirmation of this information," Medvedchuk's spokesperson said when asked for comment.
Last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a decree imposing sanctions against pro-Russian lawmaker Taras Kozak and eight of his companies, including the three TV stations. The channels are formally owned by Kozak but are also linked to Medvedchuk.
Zelenskiy's spokesperson described the three television channels as "a propaganda tool" and said they receive funding "from Russia."
"These media have become one of the tools in the war against Ukraine, so they are blocked in order to protect national security," spokesperson Yuliya Mendel wrote on Facebook.
Medvedchuk told reporters that the ban was illegal. He said that "according to the Ukrainian law sanctions cannot be applied to Ukrainian citizens and companies."
In a separate statement, MP Vadim Rabinovich announced that the Opposition Platform-For Life initiated the procedure of Zelenskiy's impeachment because of this decision.
