Oleksandr Lavrynovych, Ukraine’s Minister of Justice during Viktor Yanukovich’s presidency, and Kostyantyn Hryshchenko, the former Foreign Minister at that time, have been accused of treason today, the Prosecutor General’s office reports.
The accusations are linked with the so-called 2010 Kharkiv Pact which extended Russia’s naval presence in Crimea’s Sevastopol beyond 2017 until 2042 in exchange for a multiyear discounted contract to provide Ukraine with Russian natural gas. “The treaty has enabled Russia to modernise their Black Sea fleet and strengthen their presence in Crimea,” reads the statement.
Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s President, dismissed Ruslan Demchenko, the National Security and Defence Council first deputy secretary, earlier today. Demchenko was also linked with the Kharkiv Pact back in 2010, a joint investigation by Radio Free Europe and several other Ukrainian media found out.