Yanukovych, Azarov and 15 high-ranking officials are suspected of creating a criminal organization

The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office (PGO) have completed an investigation against former President Viktor Yanukovych and 16 other high-ranking officials from his time. They are suspected of creating a criminal organization.

This was reported by the State Bureau of Investigation and Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.

Among the officials from the Yanukovych era involved in the case are:

• The Prime Minister Mykola Azarov.
• The Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka.
• The Minister of Internal Affairs Vitaliy Zakharchenko.
• The Commander of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Stanislav Shulyak.
• The head of SBU Oleksandr Yakymenko.
• The First Deputy Head of SBU is Volodymyr Totsky, the head of the anti-terrorist center.
• The Minister of Defense Pavlo Lebedev.
• The Chief of the General Staff Yuri Ilyin.
• Other high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (in particular, “Berkut”) and SBU.

The investigation established that after coming to power, Yanukovych used his powers to establish personal control over the state apparatus, thereby violating his oath. To do this, he recruited people from his entourage into a criminal organization.

They received key positions in Ukrainian state bodies and created the appearance of legal activities, but in reality they acted in the interests of Yanukovych and the criminal organization. The system allowed the organization of serious and especially serious crimes.

During the Revolution of Dignity, Yanukovych ordered the use of law enforcement agencies and the Armed Forces against protesters in central Kyiv. The actions of the criminal group killed 70 civilians and injured another 1 200.

The defendants were charged in absentia with the creation and operation of a criminal organization. They face 8 to 13 years in prison.

• Yanukovych has already been sentenced in absentia in three other cases. Up to 13 years in prison for high treason and aiding and abetting the war against Ukraine, up to 15 years for inciting desertion and illegal border crossing, and up to 15 years in the case of seizing forest lands of the Sukholutska community in the Kyiv region.
• Azarov was found guilty of high treason and actions aimed at forcibly changing the constitutional order by a court in December 2025. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.