Latest news with #Yanukovich
Russia Today
27-05-2025
- General
- Russia Today
Moscow was ‘forced' to launch military operation against Kiev
Russia was left with no choice but to launch its military operation in Ukraine because of the continued persecution of the people of Donbass by Kiev following the 2014 Western-backed Euromaidan coup, President Vladimir Putin has said. During a meeting with a group of businessmen in the Kremlin on Monday, Putin said Moscow could not ignore the plight of Russian-speakers in the neighboring country. He reiterated Russia's position that the conflict stems from the turbulent events in Kiev in early 2014, when initially peaceful protests spiraled into riots and clashes with police, which led to the ouster of the democratically elected president, Viktor Yanukovich. The anti-Yanukovich forces included ultranationalist groups such as Right Sector and Svoboda. 'You need to understand that we weren't the ones who orchestrated the coup in Ukraine,' Putin said. '[The West] has always told us that there should be democracy and elections… but they carried out a coup – a bloody one, in fact – as if it were normal. They later went on to suppress the Donbass, killing people with helicopters and jets.' 'They practically forced us into doing what we're doing today, and now they're trying to blame us for it,' he said. The coup in Kiev sparked counterprotests and more riots, including a deadly clash in Odessa in May 2014, where 48 people were killed. The largely Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk rejected the Euromaidan coup and voted for independence from Ukraine. The new government in Kiev responded by sending troops in the spring of 2014 and repeatedly shelling and bombing Donetsk and other Donbass cities. Ukraine later refused to implement the UN-backed 2014-15 Minsk accords, which would have granted autonomy to Donetsk and Lugansk. EU officials, including former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, acknowledged later that Kiev used the pause in the fighting to rebuild its army and economy. Ukraine also adopted several laws since 2014 aimed at restricting the use of Russian in the public sphere. Putin cited Ukraine's failure to respect the Minsk accords and the attacks on the rights of Russian-speakers as 'the root causes' of the conflict, describing Kiev's actions as 'genocide.' He has since demanded that Ukraine drop its plans to join NATO in favor of becoming a permanently neutral state, and recognize Crimea and four other former Ukrainian regions as part of Russia.
Russia Today
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ex-Ukrainian presidential adviser shot dead in Spain
Former Ukrainian lawmaker and presidential adviser Andrey Portnov was fatally shot in a suburb of the Spanish capital, Madrid, on Wednesday, local media has reported. The circumstances of the murder suggest it may have been an 'extrajudicial execution,' as Portnov may have had access to information that could threaten figures in Vladimir Zelensky's administration, Rodion Miroshnik, Russia's ambassador-at-large overseeing a special mission on alleged Ukrainian war crimes, has said. The killing occurred in Pozuelo de Alarcon, according to the newspaper El Pais. Portnov, 51, was reportedly approached by two or three assailants and shot at least five times, including three times in the head, while inspecting the trunk of his Mercedes car, near a private school attended by his children. Spanish authorities have confirmed a homicide took place in the area but are yet to formally identify the victim. Portnov, a lawyer by training, served in the Ukrainian parliament from 2006 to 2010. He later joined President Viktor Yanukovich's administration, overseeing judicial reform as deputy chief of staff and helping draft a new criminal code that was adopted in 2012. In 2014, Portnov fled Ukraine following the Western-backed armed coup in Kiev that ousted Yanukovich's government. Despite going into exile, he remained active in Ukrainian political discourse, frequently appearing on national television. Portnov returned to the country in 2019 to support presidential candidate Vladimir Zelensky. After Zelensky won the election, Portnov filed several legal complaints against outgoing President Pyotr Poroshenko, alleging various offenses committed during his time in office. None of those cases resulted in convictions. He reportedly left Ukraine again in June 2022. At the time, Ukrainian media described him as being aligned with 'pro-Russian media' outlets that had been shut down by the Zelensky administration and he was accused of making disparaging remarks about the nature of the 2014 coup. Portnov has been listed since at least 2015 by Mirotvorets, a controversial semi-official public database that catalogs individuals deemed enemies of Ukraine. Several people listed by the site have been murdered over its decade of operation. Ukrainian intelligence services have previously claimed or implied involvement in a number of targeted killings of individuals labeled as enemies by Kiev. Some of those assassinations have occurred outside Ukraine, including the December 2023 shooting of former Ukrainian lawmaker Ilya Kiva near Moscow.
Russia Today
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukraine hands 15-year jail term to ex-president
Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has been handed a 15-year prison sentence by a Kiev court for allegedly inciting desertion and organizing 'illegal transportation across the state border,' Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office announced on Monday. Yanukovich served as president of Ukraine from 2010 until 2014, when he was ousted during the Western-backed Maidan coup and forced to leave the country. He has since sought refuge in Russia. Shortly after his escape, the Ukrainian parliament officially stripped him of his title as president. Ukrainian prosecutors have now claimed that Yanukovich's escape in February 2014 was 'illegal' and have accused him of taking at least 20 other people across the border with him, including his personal entourage and military personnel. The prosecution alleged that after Yanukovich fled Kiev, a number of state security workers that traveled with him to Russia did not return to military service, constituting desertion. On Monday, the Podolsky District Court of Kiev said that prosecutors had proven Yanukovich's transgressions and sentenced the former leader in absentia to 15 years in prison, finding him guilty of organizing an illegal border crossing and inciting desertion. Additionally, the court also sentenced Yanukovich's former deputy head of the presidential security service, Konstantin Kobzar, to ten years in prison for desertion and organizing the illegal transfer of persons across the state border. The sentence marks the second time Yanukovich has been convicted in Ukraine. In 2019, he was given a 13-year prison term for alleged treason and aiding Russia's supposed 'aggressive war against Ukraine.' At the time, Yanukovich's lawyer dismissed the verdict as illegal, arguing it was issued under pressure from the Ukrainian government ahead of the 2019 presidential elections. Yanukovich's successor, Pyotr Poroshenko, has also faced legal challenges in Ukraine as he seeks to run for office again once presidential elections are held. In February, Vladimir Zelensky imposed personal sanctions on Poroshenko and several other individuals, claiming he was 'protecting' the country and 'restoring justice.' Zelensky, whose presidential term officially expired last year, has repeatedly refused to hold new elections or relinquish power, citing martial law and the ongoing conflict with Russia.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Russian Drones Damage Classic Car Museum In Ukraine
Read the full story on Backfire News War is messy and there's always collateral damage, including classic car collections, sadly. A museum housing classic cars in Kyiv, Ukraine was hit in a Russian drone attack recently, with nine cars destroyed and another 27 damaged, some severely. We know this doesn't even begin to equate to the loss of life and human suffering in the war, but it's still a sad sight to see. Believe it or not, those cars actually used to belong to Vladimir Putin's ally, former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich. It's not clear if the museum was intentionally hit as the drones stuck other targets on the night of January 28. After the drone strike, a fire broke out in the hangar that acted as the car museum, which is what reportedly really damaged the vehicles. The precise location of the collection hasn't been disclosed. Five other buildings, including two houses, were hit in the same attack. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported. Some are celebrating seeing Yanukovich's beloved rides destroyed. We don't really care about the man or his politics. Instead, we just think it's sad that such rare historical cars were destroyed senselessly. After all, what was really accomplished by hitting the museum? Yanukovich has been exiled after he was stripped of his presidential title by the Ukrainian parliament in 2015. The man lived an opulent lifestyle before that with not only this amazing car collection but a private zoo, shooting range, 18-hole golf course, tennis court, bowling alley, etc. housed on his estate, reports Newsweek. During WWII quite a few classic cars were destroyed in the conflict as buildings were bombed or hit by mortars during military operations. Others were taken by force and used to produce equipment to fuel the war machine for the different countries. This is why some took to hiding their classic cars in barns, covering them with hay or even burying them. Some things never change. Images via Kyiv Regional Military Administration
