Additional charges pressed against Yanukovych-era PM in Ukraine

Former Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov, who fled to Russia in 2014, was charged with media activity in support of the aggressor state.

That’s according to Ukraine’s Prosecutor General's Office, Ukrinform reports.

The individual is charged over his actions aimed at the violent toppling of the constitutional order and media operations run jointly with the aggressor state, as well as “justification, recognition as legitimate, and denial” of Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine.

According to the inquiry, since the outset of the full-scale invasion, the ex-prime minister has been vocal across enemy TV shows and online platforms, engaging in media stunts in cooperation with the aggressor state.

By promoting malign narratives, the suspect aims to discredit Ukraine.

The former head of government justifies Russia armed aggression unleashed in 2014 and the occupation of Ukrainian territories. He also publicly calls for the violent overthrow of the constitutional order in Ukraine.

The ex-official calls for “de-Nazification” of Ukraine, spreading the Kremlin’s false narrative, according to which Russian President Vladimir Putin's special military operation allegedly "saved" Donetsk from capture by "preventing a tragedy." The suspect also decries atrocities that the Russian invasion forces committed in the town of Bucha near Kyiv as a hoax staged by Ukraine.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, former Prime Minister Mykola Azarov was charged in the first half of October under four articles of the Criminal Code, including treason under martial law and encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine.

Earlier, the indictment against Azarov in the case of signing the so-called Kharkiv Pact with Russia was forwarded to court.