The deputy head of the Department for Maidan Affairs of the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office, prosecutor Ivan Babenko, informed that fugitive ex-president Viktor Yanukovych lives in the elite district of Rublyovka in the Moscow suburbs.
He said this in an interview with “Ukrinform”.
"As far as we know, after his escape in February 2014, Yanukovych settled in Russia. He received temporary asylum there and lives in the Rublyovka microdistrict — in the village of Barvikha in an elite house that he bought for approximately $50 million," Babenko noted.
According to him, former Minister of Internal Affairs Zakharchenko and his former subordinates Fedchuk and Kusyuk are also in Russia. The last two work in the Russian security forces. Former Prime Minister Azarov and former Prosecutor General Pshonka are also in the Russian Federation.
According to the latest information, former head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Yakymenko and ex-Minister of Defense Lebedev live in Crimea. As well as the commander of the "black" company of "Berkut" Dmytro Sadovnyk.
Ukrainian law enforcement officers have not recorded any cases of Yanukovych or anyone from his entourage going even to African or third world countries, or to those that do not cooperate with international investigative institutions.
"I donʼt think that any of them will risk going anywhere except Belarus," the prosecutor said.
Babenko also noted that in 2019-2020, Interpol reported the impossibility of finding Yanukovych and his entourage. There they refer to the decision of the Commission for the control of files, adopted in 2017 — allegedly, the criminal proceedings against Yanukovych are connected with political motives.
- In October, the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) completed the investigation of the largest Maidan case. The indictment against the former leadership of Ukraine was referred to the court.
- “The Washington Post” wrote that during Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Federal Security Bureau (FSB) was preparing two puppet governments — headed by fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych for Kyiv and his former associates for southeastern Ukraine.
- One group headed by Yanukovych was in Belarus. He arrived there on March 7. After that, Yanukovych wrote an open letter to Zelensky, in which he called on him to stop the war, surrender and sign peace agreements. Ukrainian intelligence assures that during the week the head of Yanukovychʼs security spoke at least three times with a senior FSB officer who dealt with Ukraine.
- The head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (MDI, known as GUR) of the Ministry of Defense Kyrylo Budanov informed in September 2022 that at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia did not know who to appoint as the new "president" of Ukraine in the event of the capture of Kyiv. One of the options was fugitive president Viktor Yanukovych.