EU sanctions former Ukraine president and son for pro-Russia role

The European Union has added ‘the pro-Russian former President of Ukraine Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych’ and his son Oleksandr Viktorovych Yanukovych to the list of persons, entities and bodies subject to restrictive measures set out in the Annex to Decision 2014/145/CFSP ‘for their role in undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine and the state’s stability and security’ and, it adds, ‘in the case of Oleksandr Viktorovych Yanukovych – for conducting transactions with the separatist groups in the Donbas region of Ukraine.’

The regulation says further that Viktor Yanukovych ‘considers himself as the legitimate President of Ukraine and has consistently presented a pro-Russian stance in his public interventions’, and that, ‘According to different sources [he] has been part of a Russian special operation, aimed at replacing the Ukrainian President with him, during the first phases of the unprovoked illegal military aggression against Ukraine.’

It says that Oleksandr ‘still runs his business activities in the Donbass region controlled by the separatists groups, especially in the energy, coal, construction, banking and real estate sectors. In particular, thanks to close ties with the pro-Russian separatists, he acquired key economic assets in the so-called “Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics”, inter alia in the energy, coal and real-estate sectors,’ and that ‘Furthermore, he is associated with his father Viktor Yanukovych, who is responsible for supporting or implementing actions or policies which threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, as well as the state’s stability and security.’

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32022R1354&from=EN