New Delhi: Exiled former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Russia in 2014, is likely to be declared the next president of Ukraine, The Kyiv Independent reported.


A report said that Viktor Yanukovych was being prepared by the Kremlin for a "special occasion" and may be declared "President of Ukraine", according to Ukrainian intelligence.


The Kremlin may be preparing an informational operation or action for Yanukovych's return to Ukraine, the report said.



Yanukovych is currently in Minsk, the report said. The move is being seen in political circles as Russia's way of establishing a remote-control government in Ukraine as it tries to overthrow the regime of Volodymyr Zelensky.


Who Is Viktor Yanukovych?


Yanukovych was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from November 21, 2002, to December 7, 2004, and from December 28, 2004, to January 5, 2005, under President Leonid Kuchma.


He also served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010. He fled to Russia in 2014 after his government was overthrown following the Maidan Revolution or "Revolution of Dignity". The word "Maidan" is an Arabic word meaning "square" or "open space".


Yanukovych's government was overthrown following a chain of violent clashes between protesters and riot police in capital Kyiv. 


The protests erupted after Yanukovych, under pressure from Russia, refused to sign a trade agreement with the European Union in November 2013. The pact would have integrated political and economic ties between the EU and Ukraine more closely.


Thousands hit the streets in protest and around 25,000 people camped out in Maidan, Kyiv's central square. Around 100 activists were reportedly killed in clashes with security forces.


With demonstrations intensifying day by day, Yanukovych signed a series of laws restricting the right to protest.


In late February 2014, the French, German and Polish Foreign Ministers arrived in Kiev to try and broker a settlement between Yanukovych and the opposition. 


However, public anger against Yanukovych was too high after the bloodshed and immediately after signing the agreement, he fled the country over fears for his own safety.