Monday, February 24, 2014

Ukraine Issues Arrest Warrant for Ousted President Yanukovych - Wall Street Journal


Updated Feb. 24, 2014 4:46 a.m. ET




A woman walks past burned trucks near parliament house in Kiev on Sunday. Reuters



Ukraine's Interior Ministry on Monday declared ousted President Viktor Yanukovych a fugitive and said it was opening a criminal case into the "mass murder" of civilians stemming from violent clashes in the capital last week that left dozens dead.


The Interior Ministry's acting head, Arsen Avakov, wrote on his Facebook FB -1.49% Facebook Inc. Cl A U.S.: Nasdaq $68.59 -1.04 -1.49% Feb. 21, 2014 4:00 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 70.59M AFTER HOURS $68.55 -0.04 -0.06% Feb. 21, 2014 7:59 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 403,384 P/E Ratio 112.44 Market Cap $174.89 Billion Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee $1,242,230 02/24/14 Telecoms Step Up Fight Over Ne... 02/23/14 Gordon Crovitz: A WhatsApp Mes... 02/23/14 Allen & Co. Flourishes as a Te... More quote details and news » FB in Your Value Your Change Short position page that Mr. Yanukovych is believed to be in Crimea, a southern region dominated by ethnic Russians that serves as home to Russia's Black Sea naval fleet.




Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych speaks with journalists during his meeting with Ukrainian media in Kiev, Ukraine, on Dec. 19. European Pressphoto Agency



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"As of this morning, a criminal case has been opened based on the mass murder of civilians. Yanukovych and some other officials have been put on the wanted persons list," Mr. Avakov wrote.


He said that it is believed that Mr. Yanukovych left his native Donetsk late Saturday and arrived in Crimea on Sunday, where he stayed in a privately run sanitarium, avoiding state-run facilities and his presidential dacha in the region.


Upon learning that the acting parliament had ousted him from the presidency, Mr. Yanukovych hastily left the sanitarium and headed to a regional airport but never arrived there, Mr. Avakov said.


Instead, he decided to stay at a private home with his security detail. He then asked his guards who wanted to leave and who wanted to remain with him and some left with their weapons. With his remaining guards, Mr. Yanukovych then piled into three cars and drove away, switching off all forms of communication. His current whereabouts is unknown, Mr. Avakov said.


Ukraine's Finance Ministry on Monday said the country will seek a loan from the U.S. and Poland in the next two months, hoping to raise around $35 billion by the end of 2015.


U.K. Treasury chief George Osborne said earlier on Monday that the European Union stands ready to provide vital financial aid to Ukraine as the crisis-hit country moved to appoint a pro-Western interim leadership.


The ministry suggested holding an international "donor" conference on the bailout with the U.S., the EU and other International Monetary Fund members. The ministry said that the financial aid will be used to revamp the economy, carry out reforms and fulfill an agreement with the EU.


Ukraine walked away from talks over a trade agreement with Europe in late November, triggering a wave of street rallies that later erupted into violent clashes between protesters and law enforcers and resulted in a political crisis.


Concerns that Ukraine's indebted economy could face default have recently sparked panic on markets, pushing Ukrainian bond yields higher and battering the hryvnia to all-time lows.


"I'm asking all the Ukraine citizens and representatives of the financial market to ensure stable activity of financial institutions," Mr. Kolobov said.


Write to Lukas I. Alpert at lukas.alpert@wsj.com and Andrey Ostroukh at andrey.ostroukh@wsj.com









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