Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Parubiy, who was the “Commandant of the Maidan” during the Revolution of Dignity, has said Russian attacks were expected from all directions after the disgraced Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled from country, according to an UNIAN correspondent.
Testifying in Kyiv’s Obolonsky District Court on Wednesday as a prosecution’s witness in the Yanukovych treason case, Parubiy said that Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky called him in late February – early March 2014. During the phone conversation, Zhirinovsky threatened Parubiy to initiate proceedings against him in Russia if Ukraine defends itself.
Parubiy also added that during the meeting of the National Security and Defense Council on February 28, 2014, it was noted that Russia could attack Ukraine from all directions, most likely from the section of the border north of Kyiv.
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The judicial panel of Kyiv's Obolon district court on June 29 granted the prosecution's request to have Yanukovych tried in absentia.