You're reading: Kuchma backs Smeshko’s initiative to launch criminal proceedings against Melnychenko

Second Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma (1994-2005) has said that criminal cases should be opened against former State Guard department officer Mykola Melnychenko.

"I know that such a question was raised by [former SBU Chief Ihor] Smeshko. And today he said that a respective document had been passed to the prosecutor general in December, in which accusations are made against Melnychenko and which describes what accusations [were made]," he told reporters on Thursday after leaving the building of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

When asked whether he supports such an initiative, Kuchma said: "Of course. Can it be otherwise? We will never respect ourselves, and nobody in the world will respect us, if we cannot defend ourselves. This is a disgrace. The whole world is laughing at us."