Former member of Parliament from the Party of Regions Oleh Tsariov is suspected of encroaching on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and collaborationism (Part 3 of Article 110 and Part 1 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The Prosecutorʼs office is asking for his life imprisonment, — announced by Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova.
"Tsariov repeatedly advocated against the interests of the state, while he was serving as a member of Parliament. For Tsariov, the war in Ukraine is just that. For him, Ukrainian human lives are worthless. Recently, Tsariov turned to Oleksandr Vilkul and offered him to hand over Ukrainian Kryvyi Rih to the Russian aggressor, as a result of which he was forced to buy a ticket for a Russian tourist liner, which follows the traditional route" [from the already catchphrase of the beginning of the war "Russian warship, go fuck yourself], Venediktova wrote.
- Tsariov is a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Four Convocations, the last time he was elected from the Party of Regions (2012 to 2014). In May 2014, he ran for president but withdrew his candidacy. In June of that year, the Verkhovna Rada stripped him of his parliamentary immunity and approved his arrest on suspicion of separatism.
- At the end of June 2014, Tsariov fled to the occupied Donbas, where he became the speaker of the "parliament of the Union of Peopleʼs Republics" — the body of pro-Russian militants, which was supposed to unite the "parliaments" of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk and Luhansk Peopleʼs Republics".
- In February, the Financial Times wrote, citing US intelligence, that the Russians wanted to appoint Tsariov as the head of the puppet government in Ukraine. After the invasion of Russian troops, Tsareiov was seen in the temporarily occupied territories.