Ukraine's prosecutor general prepares extradition request for Yanukovych

KIEV, Ukraine, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office posted a statement on its website Friday that it is preparing to request the extradition of former President Viktor Yanukovych upon verification that the deposed leader is in fact in Russia.

Yanukovych was named a suspect in the "mass killings of civilians" during the Euromaidan rallies that ultimately toppled his regime. An arrest warrant was issued for him on Monday by the Prosecutor General's Office. He was impeached on Saturday.

The whereabouts of the deposed president were unknown after he drove off "in an unknown direction" on Saturday while in the Crimea region, although there was significant speculation he had fled to Russia. On Friday, Russian officials said that Yanukovych had been flown to a military airport in Rostov, Russia. Later in the day, Yanukovych held a press conference -- presumably in Rostov -- to claim he fled for fear of his life and to assert he had not been overthrown.

The status of the Prosecutor General's extradition request is not currently known.

[Kyiv Post]