First entry: 23 June 2015
Ukraine’s former president Viktor Yanukovych has praised Russian president Vladimir Putin and thanked him for saving his life.
The former leader of Ukraine told BBC's Newsnight he was grateful that Putin ordered security officials to help Yanukovych get out of Ukraine.
Yanukovych fled to Russia on February 23, 2014, with the help of Moscow troops.
"Vladimir Putin took that decision, on the recommendation of his own special forces, that was his right and his business. He did not consult me. I am of course grateful to him for giving the order and… helped my security to get me out, and save my life."
In what the BBC said was his first interview with a Western journalist, Yanukovych refused to answer directly questions about whether Crimea belongs to Russia or Ukraine.
"Today what happened is already a fact. Now there is war. They talk about getting Crimea back. How? By war? We need another war?" he said.
He took responsibility for the killings in Maidan in February 2014. "I don't deny my responsibility," he said. But the former president denied he gave the order for government troops to fire on protestors.
"I did not give any orders, that was not my authority... I said publically I was against the use of force, let alone the use of firearms, I was against bloodshed."
Yanukovych's most colourful response was to questioning over the private zoo that he kept in the grounds of his 343-acre estate Mezhygirya, outside Kiev.
The zoo was home to thousands of animals, including deer, pigs, peacocks, ostriches and even kangaroos.
Asked about the animals that lived on the property Yanukovych was defiant.
"That I supported the ostriches, what’s wrong with that?" he asked.
Initially he said the zoo was a "totally separate entitiy" that just happened to be situated within palace grounds, saying "Yes, what am I supposed to do, go around with my eyes closed?"
But he later conceded: "Ok it was one territory."
However, he denied that he visited the zoo often.
"If I ever went there I went there roughly twice a year, when I had time. I didn’t have much time. I worked. Even though I love animals. When I had time, I went there."
Source: The Telegraph
The former leader of Ukraine told BBC's Newsnight he was grateful that Putin ordered security officials to help Yanukovych get out of Ukraine.
Yanukovych fled to Russia on February 23, 2014, with the help of Moscow troops.
"Vladimir Putin took that decision, on the recommendation of his own special forces, that was his right and his business. He did not consult me. I am of course grateful to him for giving the order and… helped my security to get me out, and save my life."
In what the BBC said was his first interview with a Western journalist, Yanukovych refused to answer directly questions about whether Crimea belongs to Russia or Ukraine.
"Today what happened is already a fact. Now there is war. They talk about getting Crimea back. How? By war? We need another war?" he said.
He took responsibility for the killings in Maidan in February 2014. "I don't deny my responsibility," he said. But the former president denied he gave the order for government troops to fire on protestors.
"I did not give any orders, that was not my authority... I said publically I was against the use of force, let alone the use of firearms, I was against bloodshed."
Yanukovych's most colourful response was to questioning over the private zoo that he kept in the grounds of his 343-acre estate Mezhygirya, outside Kiev.
The zoo was home to thousands of animals, including deer, pigs, peacocks, ostriches and even kangaroos.
Asked about the animals that lived on the property Yanukovych was defiant.
"That I supported the ostriches, what’s wrong with that?" he asked.
Initially he said the zoo was a "totally separate entitiy" that just happened to be situated within palace grounds, saying "Yes, what am I supposed to do, go around with my eyes closed?"
But he later conceded: "Ok it was one territory."
However, he denied that he visited the zoo often.
"If I ever went there I went there roughly twice a year, when I had time. I didn’t have much time. I worked. Even though I love animals. When I had time, I went there."
Source: The Telegraph
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