Ukrainian court orders ex-president's arrest in absentia on treason charge

FILE PHOTO: Viktor Yanukovich, the former president of Ukraine who was ousted by street protests and fled to Russia in 2014, speaks during a news conference in Moscow, Russia February 6, 2019. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva/File Photo

KYIV (Reuters) - A Ukrainian court on Monday ordered the arrest in absentia of former President Viktor Yanukovich, accusing him of treason over an agreement he signed in 2010 extending Russia's lease on naval facilities in Crimea.

The agreement, widely known in Ukraine as the Kharkiv Pact, allowed Russia to keep its Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean port of Sevastopol.