According to the Ukrainian Constitution, the title of president is retained throughout life if the president was not impeached during his or her term. As Yanukovych was not impeached, the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, considered that he had resigned and had no longer been fulfilling his powers under the country’s constitution and was no longer “fulfilling his responsibilities” as the president.
“In line with the aforementioned, there is the need to resolve the issue of voiding the title of the president of Ukraine in regard to V. Yanukovych, who unconstitutionally divorced himself from fulfilling his powers as the president of Ukraine, which in turn threatened the manageability of the state, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, as well as led to mass breaches in the rights and freedoms of the citizens,” a parliamentary document reads.
Following the coup, pro-Western authorities in Kiev initiated a number of criminal cases against Yanukovych on abuse of office and corruption charges. In January, Kiev also issued an extradition order for the former president, which Russia said it had not received. Yanukovych is also on Interpol's wanted persons list.
