Yanukovych did not see evidence of the Russian presence in the Donbass, and considers the loss of the Crimea "a fact that has already happened"

Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said in an interview that he was partly responsible for the killings during the suppression of protests in Kiev in February 2014.

In his first interview with Western media since the beginning of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Yanukovych told reporter Gabriel Gatehouse that he never gave the order to open fire on protesters, but didn’t make enough effort to stop the bloodshed.

“I was an opponent, a categorical opponent, of bloodshed. I believed that no power is worth a drop of people's blood. That's why I was against bloodshed in Ukraine. And I did everything so that there would be no war in Ukraine,” he said.

At the same time, he blamed the bloodshed on the radical elements of Maidan supporters. “Today, when so much time has passed - already a year and a half - today the Ukrainians realized that the authorities and the president were not interested in these executions, but those ... radicals, those, I would say, criminals who decided to seize power in this way were interested.”

According to Yanukovych, the current Ukrainian government is not conducting an investigation into the events on the Maidan. “I have now turned to the Prosecutor General’s Office with a request that these investigation materials be publicly shown to the public, because the public does not know that in fact no investigation is being conducted. A year and a half has passed. On the contrary, all traces of the crimes committed on the Maidan are being destroyed,” the former president said. However, judging by the register of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, a criminal case for the murder of police officers during protests is underway.

“I didn’t give the order”

The former president of Ukraine said that he did not give the order to shoot at the protesters. “I didn’t give any orders. This is not my authority, first of all. Secondly, I publicly said that I am against the use of force, especially shooting. I am against bloodshed, I constantly talked about it. But law enforcement officers performed their duties in accordance with existing laws, so they had the right to use weapons in cases where this is provided for by law. And in which cases they used it, and in which they did not use it - I don’t have these facts,” Yanukovych said.

He called the war in the east of the country a nightmare that has become a reality. The annexation of Crimea by Russia was, according to him, a tragedy that would not have happened if he were president. He considers the prospect of returning Crimea to Ukraine not very realistic. “And the people, most importantly, the Crimean people, 90% of the population of Crimea voted to leave Ukraine. I think this is very bad. But this is a consequence of what Maidan did. This is a consequence of the radical nationalist movement that frightened the population of Crimea, which has traditionally been pro-Russian.”

"Never belonged to me"

Yanukovych called what was happening in Donbass genocide. “In general, I believe that everything that is happening in Donbass now is genocide. Genocide of the population of Donbass."

Viktor Yanukovych, who is on the territory of Russia where he fled, said that he did not appropriate state funds and did not hide money in accounts in foreign banks.

His luxurious mansion in the suburbs of Kiev, which was opened after his flight to the general public, according to him, does not belong to him personally.

He calls payments for millions of dollars spent on the development of the complex “political technologies.” “There is a house on the territory of this residence, 630 square meters, which belongs to Yanukovych, which I bought with my own money, which I declared - I have it declared - I bought it, officially paid it to the budget. ...everything else that was on this territory does not belong to me personally and never did,” he noted, adding that the zoo located on the territory of the residence did not belong to him.

“This zoo is completely out of the way. If I was there, then I went there twice a year, relatively speaking, when I had time. I didn't have much time to go there. I worked. Although I love animals, and when I had time and the opportunity, I went there.”

"For a united Ukraine"

Viktor Yanukovych hopes that one day he will be able to return to his homeland. He expressed confidence that Donbass, a significant part of whose territory is controlled by armed supporters of the DPR and LPR, should remain part of Ukraine. “If Kyiv wants Donbass to remain in Ukraine, and I am for it; I am for Donbass to remain in Ukraine - then we need to sit down at the negotiating table, do whatever we want, reach a compromise, come to an agreement and begin to implement the Minsk agreements. Russia’s merit is that the Minsk agreements took place.”

Yanukovych also called on the US and EU to force Kyiv to conduct direct negotiations with the leaders of supporters of the self-proclaimed republics. “And today Europe, the United States of America, which directly influence Kiev, must force Kyiv to sit down at the negotiating table with representatives of Donbass and implement the Minsk agreements.”

The former president noted that he now spends most of his time in Rostov, but is forced to move around Russia. Due to the threat to his life, he is constantly accompanied by security. “...there is still a danger or threat to my life, so all kinds of security measures are being taken, and I am forced to live in such conditions.”