The Pechersk District Court of Kyiv has allowed a special pre-trial investigation into former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in the case of the signing of the Kharkiv Agreements in favor of Russia.
This was announced on Friday, June 3, by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Yanukovych is suspected of treason in the case of these agreements. Special status will make it possible to investigate him in his absence — in absentia.
According to the absentia principle, three investigations are being conducted against Yanukovych: the Kharkiv Agreements, incitement to desertion by state security guards, and seizure of state power in September-October 2010 (when he illegally increased his powers). In all three proceedings, the court allowed the arrest of Yanukovych.
Kharkiv Agreements
On April 21, 2010, in Kharkiv, the then presidents of Ukraine and Russia, Yanukovych and Medvedev, signed an agreement to extend the stay of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol for 25 years. Ukraine agreed to this in exchange for a reduction in the price of Russian gas (discount in the form of cancellation of customs duties). At the same time, the agreement did not provide any reduction in gas prices.
Earlier, the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office of Ukraine stressed that Russia first artificially created and accumulated Ukraineʼs debt for the supply of natural gas, and then for its repayment literally deployed its fleet in Ukraine for free. Due to the Kharkiv Agreements, the number of Russian troops in Ukraine has increased.
Later, these Black Sea Fleet troops, along with other Russian servicemen, invaded the territory of Crimea, which led to the occupation of the peninsula, which has been going on since February 20, 2014. As a result of the seizure of state-owned facilities, Ukraine suffered losses of 1.8 trillion hryvnias.