Yanukovych insists that he did not ask Putin to send troops to Ukraine
Former President of Ukraine Victor Yanukovych stated that he did not write to Vladimir Putin requesting that Russian troops be sent to the territory of Ukraine.
“I did not ask for Russian troops in Ukraine. That’s not true,” Yanukovych was quoted as saying by Russian news agency TASS. According to him, he did not write a letter to Putin; it was a “declaration” intended to “protect the people of the Donbas.” Yanukovych added that he did not betray his people; he simply tried to protect them within the scope of his power and authority.
At a meeting of the UN Security Council on March 4, 2014, Permanent Representative of Russia Vitaly Churkin stated that Yanukovych asked that troops be sent to Ukraine. He not only quoted Yanukovych’s request, but presented a photocopy of the original letter.
In late January, the UN Secretariat passed the letter on to Kyiv. Then the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Yuriy Lutsenko, wrote on Facebook that irrefutable documentary evidence had been received which proves Yanukovych guilty of treason.
There are several open criminal cases against Victor Yanukovych in Ukraine. The former president is accused of the murder of people during the mass protests in Kyiv in 2013-2014, misappropriation of state property, seizing power through unconstitutional means, actions intended to overthrow the constitutional system, and treason. He denies the accusations.