Yanukovych loses court case against the EU: he demanded to lift sanctions against it

Former President Viktor Yanukovych has failed to have his European sanctions lifted. On Wednesday, September 10, the EU court rejected his lawsuit, confirming that the EU Council had sufficiently strong evidence to put Yanukovych on the sanctions lists.

Among them: an appeal to Vladimir Putin in March 2014 with a request to send Russian troops to Ukraine, which contributed to the destabilization of the country, support for pro-Russian politicians in public office in the occupied Crimea, targeted reduction of Ukraine's defense capabilities, in particular in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, in the period from 2012 to 2014, as well as participation in the operation to attempt to replace the current President at the beginning of a full-scale invasion in 2022.

The court also took into account other justifications, such as the signing of an agreement in 2010 to extend the stay of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol and the accusation of treason, although it noted that the previous points were sufficient to justify the sanctions.

At the same time, the court dismissed the lawsuit filed by Yanukovych's son, Oleksandr, who continues to do business in Donetsk region during the occupation and financed separatists in Donbas.

The Yanukovychs appealed against the EU Council's decision starting on August 4, 2022, and subsequent decisions to maintain the sanctions, which extended them until September 15, 2024.

The decision on the Yanukovychs was made on the eve of the next extension of the EU sanctions lists scheduled for September 15.

• In 2019, the Obolon District Court of Kyiv sentenced Yanukovych to 13 years in prison for treason, and in 2025, the Podil District Court of Kyiv sentenced him to 15 years in prison for organizing incitement to desertion and organizing the illegal transportation of people from his entourage across the state border.