Guards of former pro-Russian president Yanukovych served with notice of suspicion 10 years after helping him flee
Fifteen former members of the security service of former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych have been served with a notice of suspicion for deserting, ten years after their superiors falsified documents to pass their flight to Russia off as dismissal.
Source: State Bureau of Investigations of Ukraine (SBI); Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine; Ukrainska Pravda citing sources in law enforcement
Quote from the SBI: "On 21 February 2014, Yanukovych and his partner, escorted by guards who were members of Ukraine’s State Security Administration, flew by helicopter from his Mezhyhiriia residence to the city of Kharkiv.
The next day he arrived in the city of Donetsk, and from there he made an attempt to illegally fly to Russia.
After the flight was blocked by members of Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, Yanukovych and the heads of his security service entered into a criminal conspiracy with members of the Russian security forces to illegally cross the state border of Ukraine.
They came up with and coordinated a plan to smuggle out the fugitive president and people close to him, including his son and partner, as well as his security, initially to a Russian military airbase in the Republic of Crimea."
Details: Later, the SBI says, while on the territory of a military unit of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in the Sevastopol district, Yanukovych made the final decision to leave the territory of Ukraine.
To ensure that he would have professional security, he decided to persuade the members of the State Security Administration of Ukraine, who were fulfilling their military duty by ensuring his personal safety, to desert and flee with him to Russia.
Quote: "As a result, 16 military personnel from the State Security Administration of Ukraine left for Russia on a seagoing vessel provided by the Armed Forces of Russia and did not return to their place of service. Most of them obtained Russian citizenship after their departure.
To cover up their desertion, an order was issued on 23 February 2014 regarding the discharge of 15 of these members of the State Security Administration of Ukraine from military service."
More details: The leadership of the State Security Administration launched an internal investigation in 2023 and established that the members of the State Security Administration went to Russia on 24 February 2014 as military personnel. These materials were used as evidence in the case of desertion committed by Yanukovych’s security service.
The fifteen former guards have been served with a notice of suspicion of unauthorised absence from their place of service with the aim of evading service by prior conspiracy with a group of persons (Article 408.2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Custody will be requested as a pre-trial restriction for them.
Ukrainska Pravda sources in law enforcement have identified the former members of the State Security Administration of Ukraine in question:
- Serhii Volodymyrovych Bernatskyi
- Artem Viktorovych Sushko
- Denys Mykhailovych Trofymov
- Yurii Viktorovych Holovynets
- Vitalii Oleksandrovych Nishchyk
- Hennadii Viktorovych Hlahodskyi
- Oleh Anatoliiovych Dorohan
- Dmytro Valeriiovych Ivantsov
- Oleksii Serhiiovych Lapa
- Serhii Oleksandrovych Deiev
- Andrii Leonidovych Tomchuk
- Dmytro Oleksandrovych Rudavin
- Oleksandr Albertovych Ruban
- Volodymyr Valeriiovych Pavlenko
- Vitalii Andriiovych Merlich
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