Viktor Yanukovych 2014 Yanukovych called Russia's annexation of Crimea "a tragedy", the 2014 Crimean referendum "a form of protest" and he stated he hopes it will become part of Ukraine again. Yanukovych said he would try to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to return Crimea to Ukraine. He squarely blamed the Yatsenyuk Government and acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov for Ukraine's loss of Crimea. He also said he gave no orders to open fire on Euromaidan protesters. Yanukovych said: "We must set such a task and search for ways to return to Crimea on any conditions, so that Crimea may have the
Oleksandr Yanukovych for Oleksandr. In 2017, however, Interpol removed all data on the pair, and confirmed that Oleksandr was not on the wanted list. In 2017, Swiss authorities confirmed that Oleksandr Yanukovych did not have any personal bank accounts or assets in Switzerland, apart from those owned by MAKO Trading SA. In October, the ECJ (European Court of Justice) upheld sanctions against Oleksandr and his father. In March 2015, Yanukovych's younger brother was reported to have drowned after a vehicle he was travelling in fell through ice in Siberia. News reports at the time highlighted several similar deaths of people with ties