Former guards of fugitive president Viktor Yanukovych are suspected of desertion.
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The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) announced on January 11 that it had announced suspicions against 15 ex-guardians of the former president.
They are accused of desertion. All of them were employees of the State Security Administration (SGO) and fled with Yanukovych to Russia.
The management of the UGO forged documents about the alleged dismissal of these guards before fleeing.
On February 21, 2014, Yanukovych, together with his partner, accompanied by security, flew by helicopter from his Mezhyhirya residence to Kharkov. The next day he arrived in Donetsk, from where he attempted to fly illegally to Russia.
After the flight was blocked by border guards, Yanukovych and the leaders of his security agreed with the Russians to cross the state border. He, his son, his partner and security were first brought to the territory of a Russian military airfield on the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
Subsequently, Yanukovych decided to finally leave the territory of Ukraine.
In order to provide himself with professional security in the future, he decided to persuade the military personnel of the Ukrainian Civil Defense Administration, who were performing their military duty to ensure his personal safety, to desert and travel with him to the Russian Federation, the DBR statement says.
As a result, sixteen servicemen of the Ukrainian Civil Defense Directorate left for Russia on a sea vessel provided from Russia and did not return to their place of service. Most of them, after leaving, received citizenship of the aggressor country.
In order to hide the desertion, an order was issued on February 23, 2014 to dismiss 15 of these Ukrainian Civil Defense employees from military service.
Based on the materials of the DBR, the leadership of the Ukrainian Civil Defense Directorate ordered an official inspection in 2023 and found that the Civil Defense Directorate employees left for the Russian Federation on February 24, 2014 in the status of military personnel. These materials were used as evidence in the case of desertion of Yanukovych’s guards.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.