Former head of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry Mikhail Yezhel has been charged with high treason for approving the signing of the April 2010 “Kharkov Accords” and “assistance of the Russian Federation” in the annexation of Crimea. This was reported on Monday, August 8, at the State Investigation Department of Ukraine (SBI).

The former minister is suspected of committing high treason by prior arrangement as part of a group of people (part 2 of article 28, part 1 of article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Criminal proceedings are carried out under the procedural guidance of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.

The admiral, who previously served as commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Navy, agreed to the entire package of documents necessary for the implementation of the agreement between Kyiv and Moscow on the presence of the Black Sea Fleet (BSF) of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, said the SBI.

“No mandatory legal expertise”

At the same time, Mikhail Yezhel agreed to the draft documents without even attending a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on 21 April 2010, during which they were discussed, and also without carrying out a mandatory legal examination of their compliance with Starna’s constitution and laws, the statement further emphasizes.

The State Investigation Department believes that the presence of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine and its modernization contributed to the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol in 2014.

Accusations against the ex-Minister of Justice and the ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

In July 2022, Oleksandr Lavrynovych, who served as Ukraine’s Minister of Justice during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, and Konstantin Grishchenko, who headed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the same period, were charged with treason. The charges also relate to the signing of the “Kharkov agreements”.

In 2021, Viktor Yanukovych and former prime minister Mykola Azarov, who were on the wanted list, were announced as suspected of committing treason.

On April 21, 2010, Yanukovych in Kharkiv signed an agreement between Kyiv and Moscow on behalf of Ukraine, which extended the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s stay in Sevastopol for 25 years. As part of the agreements, the price of Russian gas to Ukraine was also reduced.