Investigators of the State Bureau of Investigation have collected evidence to prosecute two former ministers for treason in the drafting, negotiation, signing, ratification and implementation of the agreement between Ukraine and Russia on the Russian Black Sea Fleet stationing in Ukraine, which was signed in Kharkiv on 21 April 2010 and is known as the so-called Kharkiv agreements.
"The deputy prosecutor-general has signed a notice of suspicion against the former justice minister. Also, the SBI investigators, on the approval of the prosecutor, declared the former Ukrainian foreign minister a suspect," the report said.
At the time of the signing of the agreements, Justice Minister Oleksandr Lavrynovych was the minister of justice, while Kostyantyn Hryshchenko was the minister of foreign affairs.
According to the investigators, the suspects are abroad, so suspicions have been declared in absentia.
"The pre-trial investigation established that the content and terms of the agreement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on the Russian Black Sea Fleet's stationing in Ukraine were imposed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on the then Ukrainian prime minister. Fully aware of the consequences of signing this agreement, the former Ukrainian prime minister and the ministers involved created conditions for prolonging the Russian Black Sea Fleet's stay on the territory of Ukraine for 25 years. This contributed to the build-up of military equipment and personnel of the aggressor state's armed forces, which were used in the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol in 2014," the SBI said.