Anti-Russian lustration must be held in Ukraine - Yatsenyuk

Ukraine's former prime minister and head of the Kyiv Security Forum, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said this at the forum on Thursday, December 1, Ukrinform reports, citing the forum's website.

"Supporting Russia's dictatorship in Ukraine is not a sign of democracy, but a sign of a criminal offense," Yatsenyuk said.

According to him, in Russia, the NKVD transformed into the FSB, but the essence remained the same. "Stalin transformed into Putin, but the essence remained the same. Stalin's Soviet chauvinist ideology transformed into Putin's new imperialism, but the essence is the same," he said.

"Ukraine is a trauma for all Russian dictators," Yatsenyuk added.

In his opinion, a ban on supporting Russian aggression, "be it support for any pro-Russian parties or any pro-Russian ideology," should be introduced at the legislative level. The non-recognition of the Holodomor as genocide is also unacceptable, he sad.

"This should be introduced within the legal framework. Denial of Russian aggression, denial of torture, denial of Russian imperialism, denial that the Holodomor was an act of genocide, denial of war crimes must all be prosecuted by law. And people having such views must have no place in the Ukrainian legislative body and in the Ukrainian government. This should be a new lustration effort – an anti-Russian one, and an anti-imperialist one," Yatsenyuk said.

The Verkhovna Rada in May adopted a law banning the activities of pro-Russian parties.