The Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU) has opened proceedings on the constitutionality of the agreement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on the deployment of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine of 21 April 2010.
"On 13 April 2023, the Second Panel of Judges of the Second Senate opened constitutional proceedings in the case of the constitutional appeal of 49 Ukrainian MPs to provide an opinion on the constitutionality of the agreement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on the stay of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine of 21 April 2010, ratified by the Law of Ukraine 'On Ratification of the Agreement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on the Stay of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation on the Territory of Ukraine' of 27 April 2010 No 2153–VI," the court's press service said.
It is noted that the subject of the right to a constitutional appeal claims that the inconsistency of the disputed agreement "with the principles of national security, the lack of a legal framework for concluding an international agreement of this nature, as well as the inconsistency of the said agreement with Article 17 of the Basic Law of Ukraine" offer the grounds for declaring this agreement unconstitutional.
At one of its sessions, the Grand Chamber of the Court will determine the form of constitutional proceedings in this case. The judge-rapporteur in the case is Serhiy Holovatyy.
The Kharkiv agreements between Ukraine and the Russian Federation were signed by the then-presidents of Ukraine and Russia respectively, Viktor Yanukovych and Dmitry Medvedev, on 21 April 2010. According to them, the period of stay of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol was extended from 2017 to 2042 with an automatic extension for five years, unless either party objects. The rent was also set.
The fleet's stay was extended in exchange for cheaper Russian gas for Ukraine. The agreements were ratified by the Verkhovna Rada and the State Duma on 27 April 2010. The agreements were unilaterally denounced by the State Duma on 31 March 2014.
In December 2022, the State Bureau of Investigation completed an investigation into the high treason by Yanukovych and his Prime Minister Mykola Azarov in the Kharkiv agreements case: the fugitive president ensured the legalisation of the treasonous agreement under Ukrainian law.