KYIV. May 21 (Interfax) - The National Bureau of Investigation has started an inquiry into suspected treason and preparations for a power grab committed by top-ranking Ukrainian officials in late 2018.
The investigation has been initiated by Andriy Portnov, former deputy chief of staff of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
"Investigators of the National Bureau of Investigation's Central Office accepted an application from A.V. Portnov on 21.05.2019 and added to the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations information on the possible perpetration by top-ranking Ukrainian officials of crimes defined by Article 109 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code (preparations to violently change or overthrow the constitutional system or to seize power), Article 111 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code (high treason) and Article 426-1 of the Ukrainian Constitutional Court (abuse of office by military or civilian officials). A pretrial inquiry has begun," the agency said in a statement posted on its website on Tuesday.
The agency said the investigation concerned the events of November 25, 2018, when a group of the Ukrainian Navy's ships was deployed from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov via the Kerch Strait.
According to the report, Portnov filed his "first crime report" to the National Bureau of Investigation regarding the actions of then President Petro Poroshenko in November 2018.
"We believe he is involved in treason, attempted power grab, and abuse of office," Portnov wrote on Facebook.
He asked the National Bureau of Investigation to add to the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations information about crimes which Poroshenko and other officials may have committed in the course of the deployment of the Ukrainian Navy's ships from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov, and to begin a pretrial inquiry.
"Question [...] Poroshenko, members of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, the General Staff chief and commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Navy commander, and other officials who could bear relation to those events," the application said.