They participated in the so-called Kharkov Pact, which extended the lease to Russia of the naval facilities of the Crimean peninsula, later invaded by Moscow.
The Ukrainian authorities have issued this Tuesday a search and arrest warrant against two former ministers of the Administration of former President Viktor Yanukovych for participating in the preparations that led to the signing in 2010 of the so-called Kharkov Pact, which extended the rent to Russia of naval facilities on the Crimean peninsula. The State Investigation Office indicated that both have been charged with alleged treason. Everything indicates that both are outside the country, which is why these orders have been issued ‘in absentia’, according to the Ukrinform news agency.
The agreement was signed by the then presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Dimitri Medvedev and Viktor Yanukovych, respectively, despite protests in Ukraine against the Russian presence in Crimea. Finally, Moscow annexed the peninsula in 2014, a decision not recognized internationally.
Yanukovych asked the Ukrainian authorities precisely at the beginning of July to stop dividing the population into “good guys and bad guys” and to recognize the point of view of those who “assess the situation differently” in the context of the Russian invasion. Of the territory. The veteran politician, who presided over Ukraine between 2010 and 2014 and whose departure was related to the Euromaidan riots – protests that for Russia led to a coup d’état – has lamented that successive governments have “deceived” the population regarding peace in Donbas, a zone of conflict with Russia ever since.
In 2019 he was sentenced to thirteen years in prison for treason and espionage after being found guilty of allowing Moscow to launch a “war” against Ukraine in 2014 by calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to send troops to the country to allow him to regain power after protests against his mandate.
On the other hand, the kyiv authorities announced the sentence to fifteen years in prison against three people for joining the militias of the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk. They have been found “guilty of treason” and of collaborating with “armed aggression” after being captured at the end of March in the town of Viljivka, in the Kharkov region.
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