KYIV, May 13 – A Kyiv court has ordered on Thursday to put Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, under house arrest as investigators will focus on high treason charges.

The judge at the Pechersky District Court rejected the prosecutor's motion to take Medvedchuk into custody. The prosecutor's office requested the court to take him into custody, setting UAH 300 million ($10 million) bail.

The charges of treason carry potential sentences of up to 15 years.

Medvedchuk said Thursday he will work with his lawyers to defend himself against the charges, and to make sure that no ‘illegal charges’ are filed against him.

Medvedchuk reiterated that he was not going to leave Ukraine.

Prosecutor-General Irina Venediktova said Tuesday that charges under several articles were brought against Medvedchuk business partner Taras Kozak.

Medvedchuk is accused of transferring oil and gas production licenses from one of the fields in Crimea to Russian authorities; Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

Medvedchuk is also charged with disclosing secret data on the deployment of Ukrainian military unites last year.

The developments come weeks after tensions between Kyiv and Moscow over a build-up of Russian troops on Ukraine's eastern border and rising clashes in eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin has sharply criticized the crackdown on Medvedchuk.

The 66-year-old heads the political council of the pro-Russian opposition party Opposition Platform - For Life. It is the largest opposition group in the parliament, with 44 of the 450 seats.

He has close personal ties with Putin, who is the godfather of Medvedchuk’s daughter.

The new charges are part of a broader campaign against Medvedchuk launched by authorities in February, when his financial assets were frozen for three years. In February, authorities also shut down three pro-Russian TV channels, 112, Zik and NewsOne, which Medvedchuk controlled. (tl/ez)