Yanukovych intends to return to Ukraine - lawyer

"Certainly, he intends to return to Ukraine. Staying in the territory of the Russian Federation is a temporary forced measure," Serdyuk said, according to Newsone.

According to him, Yanukovych has a temporary asylum permit in Russia, "due to the fact that political persecution is ongoing against him in Ukraine."

Serdyuk also said that Yanukovych is not being interrogated allegedly because of the unwillingness of the Ukrainian side.

Read alsoMajor share of assets seized from Yanukovych allies allocated to cover needs of Defense Ministry - LutsenkoAs reported earlier, Yanukovych is accused of treason, complicity with the Russian authorities, deliberate actions aimed at altering the borders of Ukraine in the breach of procedure established by the Constitution, and waging aggressive war.

On June 29, 2017, the Obolonsky district court of Kyiv granted the prosecution's request for the trial in absentia in the Yanukovych case.