Former Ukrainian President Yanukovych Sentenced to 15 Years for

A court has sentenced former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to 15 years in prison for organizing illegal border smuggling and incitement to desertion. This is the second sentence for the ex-guarantor.

This was reported by the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office.

The former president received his second sentence in Ukraine for organizing illegal cross-border transportation and incitement to desertion.

On April 28, 2025, the Podilskyi District Court of Kyiv handed down a verdict against the fourth president of Ukraine and the former deputy head of the State Protection Department of Ukraine. They were found guilty of crimes and received the following sentences:

• 15 years' imprisonment for the former president for organizing illegal border crossing and incitement to desertion (Article 332(2), Article 27(4), Article 408(2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
• 10 years' imprisonment for the former deputy head of the penitentiary for the same (Article 332(2), Article 408(2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

This is the next stage in the investigation of Ukrainian high-ranking officials who contributed to Russian aggression against Ukraine. Prosecutors of the Prosecutor General's Office demanded 15 and 10 years in prison, and the court upheld this request.

According to the prosecutors, on February 23, 2014, the former president of Ukraine, in collusion with the former head of the Presidential Security Service and representatives of Russia, illegally crossed the state border of Ukraine, organizing the transportation of at least 20 people from his entourage and the military of the Ukrainian penitentiary.

Three Russian military helicopters, piloted by a pilot of the Russian armed forces, departed from the outskirts of Urzuf village in Mangush district of Donetsk region to Russia, landing at the military airfield in Yeysk. After a while, they traveled to Anapa, and from there, they flew to the Gvardeyskoye airfield in Crimea on a military transport plane.

After that, the former president, with the assistance of the Russian military, decided to leave Ukraine for good. Later, while in Sevastopol, Yanukovych incited the military parolees to desert and leave for Russia, where some of the guards remained to serve in the Russian armed forces. The ex-president and part of his bodyguards were taken out of Crimea by the Russian military by sea.

The case was considered under the procedure of special court proceedings in absentia, as the defendants are fugitives from justice. The special pre-trial investigation was conducted by the State Bureau of Investigation.

This is the second sentence for the former president, as in January 2019 he was convicted of high treason and aiding and abetting in the conduct of an aggressive war. He was then sentenced to 13 years in prison.

In October 2021, the High Anti-Corruption Court took former President Yanukovych into custody in absentia, who is suspected by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of illegally seizing theMezhyhiria recreation center complex. The case was initiated after it was discovered that Yanukovych may have used public funds to privatize the complex. This became one of the main suspicions of abuse of power by the former president.

On December 6, 2021, the Supreme Court of Ukraine upheld the verdict that sentenced Viktor Yanukovych to 13 years in prison in absentia for high treason. He was found guilty of supporting and participating in Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine, as well as facilitating the annexation of Crimea. Since Yanukovych is wanted and is hiding in Russia, the court considered the case under a special procedure in absentia (in the absence of the accused).

In October 2023, the State Bureau of Investigation brought a case against the former leadership of Ukraine, including Viktor Yanukovych and other high-ranking officials, for organizing the dispersal and shooting of peaceful demonstrators during the Revolution of Dignity on February 18-20, 2014. More than 100 people were killed as a result of the brutal actions of law enforcement agencies.

Анна Бальчінос