Former Prime Minister of Ukraine convicted of high treason

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison and confiscation of property for high treason and justifying Russian aggression against Ukraine, the office of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General announced on Wednesday.

The district court of the Pechersk district found the former head of government and his assistant guilty of high treason and other crimes against national security. Azarov was sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property, and his assistant was sentenced to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property. In both cases, judgments were issued in absentia.

According to the findings of the investigation, Azarov's assistant – a former official in the authorities of one of the Kiev districts – and her accomplice prepared and published on the politician's Telegram channel materials containing anti-Ukrainian content and photos showing the effects of Russian attacks on Ukraine. They also disseminated interviews that Azarov gave to Russian propaganda media; In these talks, the politician justified Russia's aggression and called the crimes of Russian soldiers in Bucha near Kiev a “showcase”.

“Azarov regularly spreads anti-Ukrainian narratives in the programs of Moscow propagandists. During his speeches, this person justifies Russia's armed aggression, the temporary occupation of part of Ukraine and spreads false information about the socio-political situation in our country,” the prosecutor general's office said in a statement.

According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Azarov, who is hiding outside the country, actively cooperates with the Russian special services to conduct subversive activities in the interests of the Kremlin.

Mykola Azarov served as Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2010-2014, in the government of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. In 2014, he fled to Russia.

From Kiev Iryna Hirnyk (PAP)

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