Former Minister of Defense of Ukraine Mikhail Yezhel. File photoMOSCOW, Aug 8Ex-Minister of Defense of Ukraine Mikhail Yezhel was informed of suspicion of treason due to the coordination of documents necessary for the conclusion of the «Kharkov agreements» regarding the extension of the deployment of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation in Crimea, the Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) said on Monday. on suspicion of high treason to the former Minister of Defense of Ukraine Mikhail Yezhel, who, having agreed on the signing of the «Kharkov agreements», contributed to the Russian Federation in the occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea,» the statement of the State Bureau of Investigation in the Telegram channel reads.
The former head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry was put on the international wanted list in the case of treasonIn April 2010, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in Kharkov extending the stay of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation in Ukraine after 2017 for 25 years with the possibility of a subsequent extension of the agreement for five-year periods with the mutual consent of the parties . In exchange, Ukraine received a discount on the purchase of Russian gas for $100 per thousand cubic meters. On April 27, 2010, the Verkhovna Rada ratified the agreement, the decision was supported by 236 deputies. Earlier, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov said that the Security Service of Ukraine was instructed to check the circumstances of the ratification of the «Kharkiv agreements», and noted that deputies who voted on this issue may initiate a criminal case under the article «treason». Later, two deputies from the Servant of the People party submitted a bill to the Verkhovna Rada to denounce the agreements. The State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine stated that it informed ex-premier Mykola Azarov about suspicion of high treason due to the signing of the «Kharkov agreements», but he denies this. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine spoke out against the denunciation of the «Kharkov agreements».
