KIEV, February 28 (RAPSI) – The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office will officially petition Russia to extradite recently ousted president Viktor Yanukovich, should the information about his refuge in Russia be confirmed, according to a statement released by the office on Friday.
The Prosecutor General’s Office stressed that a Kiev court has issued an official order for Yanukovich’s arrest.
Last weekend Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament) ousted and impeached Yanukovich, appointed as acting president Speaker Oleksandr Turchynov, and scheduled presidential elections for May 25. Several acting ministers have been appointed this week.
Anonymous government sources in Moscow told RIA Novosti Thursday that Russia had accepted Yanukovich's request for security.
Yanukovich previously stated that he remains the legally elected president and that there is evidence of a state coup. Russia has questioned the legitimacy of the Ukrainian parliament’s decisions.