Yanukovych sentenced in absentia as Putin announces Victory Day truce
A Ukrainian court handed down a 15-year term to the former president, while Russia's president declared a three-day ceasefire.
What happened on 28 April 2025 in the courtroom and in the Kremlin's announcements? Two developments stood out that day.
A Ukrainian court sentenced former president Viktor Yanukovych in absentia to 15 years in prison. He was convicted of inciting Ukrainian officials to desert and of organising an illegal crossing of the border with Russia during his flight in 2014.
The same day, Russian president Vladimir Putin declared a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine, to run from 8 to 10 May. It was timed to mark Victory Day, the commemoration of the end of the Second World War.
The two announcements came from different arenas: one from a Ukrainian court dealing with events of 2014, the other from the Russian president in the context of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
