Ukraine’s secret service has captured fugitive Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, a top ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Medvedchuk is a pro-Russian figure who says Putin is godfather to his daughter. He also denies any wrongdoing.

The oligarch has been under house arrest since last year on treason charges but escaped shortly after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.

 His recent capture is a move that is reportedly troubling Moscow.

“The one somewhat good trait that he does have is loyalty,” geopolitical policy expert Dmitri Alperovitch said of Putin on Friday’s edition of NewsNation’s “Rush Hour.” He is actually very loyal to the people that are loyal to him.”

Alperovitch went on to say that, while there have been reports of Ukrainians being held by Russians in prisoner camps, no concrete evidence has been presented, adding that Putin’s loyalty to Medvedchuk could cause the Russian leader to concede prisoner exchanges — if those camps do exist.

However Putin would likely be unwilling to concede much more.  

“I don’t think he’ll want to see Medvedchuk dead — he will not want to see him in jail for decades. So to the extent that he’s able to make some concessions that are not critical to him, I think that may be on the table,” Alperovitch said.

It comes during a difficult week for the Russian forces, who lost the Moskva, their flagship vessel of the Black Sea, suffering casualties and significant equipment losses. 

“It’s important to put it in context,” Alperovitch said. “This is one week. The Russians are in for the long haul here. So they’re not keeping score of who’s up one week, (who’s won) another. They know that this is going to take time and Putin now appreciates at this point, certainly, that this is going to be a very costly war.” 

Alperovitch said the personal relationship of Putin being Medvedchuk’s daughter’s godfather likely won’t play a large role in his release either, noting that Putin doesn’t appear to be influenced by those sentimental factors. 

“He’s essentially a bad man for Putin — he’s a thug and he belongs incarcerated,” Alperovitch said. 

Outside of his political career, Medvedchuk was also one of the wealthiest people in Ukraine, with a net worth of 620 million in 2021, according to Forbes Ukraine.

The Washington Post reported the Medvedchuk assets seized by Ukraine include 30 plots of land, 23 homes, 32 apartments. 26 cars and one yacht.

News of Medvedchuk’s capture comes as Putin announced Friday that peace talks with Ukraine have hit a dead end, with the Russian leader insisting his campaign is going as planned, vowing his troops would win.