In Ukraine, former President Viktor Yanukovych and ex-Prime Minister Mykola Azarov will be tried for signing the “Kharkov Agreements” in favor of Russia in 2010.
The Office of the Prosecutor General reports this.
Law enforcement officers completed the pre-trial investigation and sent to the court an indictment in criminal proceedings against Yanukovych and Azarov. They are suspected of treason.
The investigation found that Yanukovych, in violation of the requirements of the Constitution and the law “On International Treaties of Ukraine,” signed an agreement on April 21, 2010 in Kharkov, which extended the stay of the Russian Black Sea Fleet on the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol by 25 years.
On the same day, Azarov signed an order for the Cabinet of Ministers to approve the so-called “Kharkov Agreements” in favor of Russia.
Former state leaders artificially created the preconditions for increasing the number of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine, their re-equipment and modernization, and subsequently the invasion of the armed forces of the Russian Federation and their occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol.
The occupation of the peninsula provided Russia with the opportunity to build up the personnel and military equipment of the Russian Armed Forces during 2014-2022, as well as create new military units and units. The aggressor state used them for a full-scale military invasion on February 24, 2022 on the territory of Ukraine.
Due to the concealment of the accused in Russia, the pre-trial investigation was carried out by the State Bureau of Investigation according to a special procedure (in absentia).
Back in 2021, Yanukovych and Azarov were informed of suspicion of committing high treason due to the “Kharkov Agreements”. They were also put on the wanted list.
Let us note that the case of the “Kharkov Agreements” is not the only one in which Yanukovych appears.
For example, an indictment against Yanukovych in connection with the seizure of state power in 2010 was recently sent to court.