Overthrown Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych tops the list of 24 former state and law enforcement officilas wanted on suspicion of involvement in the mass murders of EuroMaidan demonstrators from Feb. 18-20, when 74 people were slain.
On March 6, Ukraine’s Healthy Ministry said that a total of 100 people had been killed in clashes since the start of the EuroMaidan Revolution on Nov. 21, with several dying from wounds in recent days.
Here is Ukraine’s new Prosecutor General Olega Maknytsky list of wanted fugitives:
Viktor Yanukovych, 63, former president of Ukraine, ousted by parliament on Feb. 22 after he fled Kyiv and abandoned the presidency. Yanukovych left after EuroMaidan activists warned him to resign by the morning of Feb. 22 or face an armed insurrection. Yanukovych gave a news conference in Rostov-on-Don in Russia on Feb. 28, in which he called himself Ukraine’s legitimate president and denounced the new authorities. On the same day, the prosecutor generallaunched extradition proceedings seeking Yanukovych’s return to Ukraine.
Andriy Klyuyev, 49, former presidential chief of staff. Kliuyev resigned from his post on Feb. 23 and claimed he was shot. Now he is recovering in a Kyiv hospital, according to his spokesman.
Oleksandr Yakymenko, 49, former chief of the Security Services of Ukraine, or SBU, the successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB. Yakymenko started his career and spent many years in Russian military forces. His official biography didn’t contain information about whether and when he received the Ukrainian citizenship. His whereabouts are unknown.
Viktor Pshonka, 60, former prosecutor general.O n Feb. 22, Pshonka and the former minister of revenues and duties, Oleksandr Klymenko, tried to leave Ukraine from a Donetsk airport, but were stopped by border guards. With the help of his armed security men, Pshonka managed to avoid arrest and fled. His whereabouts are unknown.
Vitaly Zakharchenko, 51, former interior minister. From the first attacks against protesters in November, Zakharchenko is considered to have orchestrated the police brutality. Zakharchenko tried to leave Ukraine from the Donetsk airport, but just like Pshonka he has been stopped by border guards. According to some reports, he fled to Belarus, but Belarussian authorities denied the accusations.His whereabouts are unknown.
Viktor Ratushniak, 54, former deputy interior minister. Lawmaker Hennady Moskal, head of a parliamentary investigative commission, claimed Ratushniak ordered Berkut riot police to attack protesters near the Presidential Administration on Dec. 1, where many civilians suffered severe wounds. His whereabouts are unknown.
Sergiy Kosiuk, former chief of now disbanded notorious Berkut riot police unit. Dozens of former Berkut officers fled just like Kosiuk, fearing retribution of the new authorities.His whereabouts are unknown.
Stanislav Shuliak, 51, former commander of internal forces of the Interior Ministry. The Berkut riot police were used against EuroMaidan protesters and responsible for a number of casualties among civilians. His whereabouts are unknown.
Oleg Prysiazhny, former chief of the Alfa special unit of the SBU secret service. Snipers of Alfa were deployed against protesters on Feb. 18-20, as numerous videos show. His whereabouts are unknown.
Andriy Portnov, 40, formed deputy head of the Presidential Administration, who advised Yanukovych on legal issues. A former ally of Yulia Tymoshenko, Portnov switched sides and moved to the Yanukovych camp soon after the disgraced ex-president took office in February 2010. His whereabouts are unknown.
Olena Lukash, 37, former justice minister. Lukash and Portnov participated in Yanukovych’s negotiations with opposition leaders. On Feb. 26, her press service claimed that Lukash was at work somewhere outside Kyiv but couldn’t provide the details. Her whereabouts are unknown.
These 11 fugitive suspects are the only ones listed by name on the prosecutor general’s website, while the other 13 being sought are not mentioned by name.
Kyiv Post staff writer Oksana Grytsenko can be reached at [email protected]
