Ukrainian court sentences ex-president Yanukovych to 13 years in prison

FILE PHOTO: Viktor Yanukovych, President of Ukraine, addresses the 68th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, September 24, 2013. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

KIEV (Reuters) - A Ukrainian court on Thursday sentenced former president Viktor Yanukovich in absentia to 13 years in jail on treason charges, a judge said, saying his conduct in office had opened the door to Russia's annexation of Crimea and conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Yanukovich fled to Russia in 2014 following street protests against his rule. His successor, Petro Poroshenko, has adopted a pro-Western foreign policy, reversing Yanukovich's tilt towards Moscow.