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Yanukovych sentenced in absentia; Putin declares truce
Summary
A Ukrainian court handed down a 15-year term to the former president, while Moscow announced a three-day ceasefire.
What happened on 28 April 2025 in the courts and on the diplomatic front over Ukraine? Two developments stood out.
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.
On the same day, Russian president Vladimir Putin declared a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine, to run from 8 to 10 May to mark Victory Day, the commemoration of the end of the Second World War.
The two announcements came from different arenas: one a verdict in a Ukrainian courtroom over events of 2014, the other a unilateral declaration tied to a holiday date.
