Viktor Yanukovych attends a press conference in Kyiv, 4 June 2010. Photo: EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO
Viktor Yanukovych, the former president of Ukraine, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in absentia for illegally crossing the border and inciting desertion, the Ukrainian’s Prosecutor General Office announced on Monday.
The charges relate to events on 23 February 2014, when Yanukovych fled the country by air. His escape came in the wake of the Euromaidan revolution — a wave of mass protests sparked by his decision to reject a landmark trade and association agreement with the European Union, opting instead to pursue closer ties with Russia.
According to investigators, Yanukovych not only orchestrated his own departure but also arranged the evacuation of at least 20 members of his inner circle, including officials from the presidential security service.
The group reportedly left Ukraine aboard Russian military helicopters, flying first to Russia’s southern Krasnodar region before travelling on to Crimea, which had recently been annexed by Russia. From there, Yanukovych was transported to Russia by sea.
Yanukovych served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. He had also claimed victory in the 2004 election, which was rerun after allegations of huge electoral fraud led to the Orange Revolution mass protest movement. Viktor Yushchenko was eventually named the winner.
This is not Yanukovych’s first conviction. He was also sentenced to 13 years in prison in absentia on charges of high treason in 2019. He has lived in exile in Russia since leaving Ukraine.
