Ukrainian journalist and activist Tetiana Chornovol was beaten on the instruction of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in the early hours of December 25, the Ukrainska Pravda online newspaper has reported, citing Hromadske TV.

Chornovol said in an interview with Hromadske TV that for the last three years she has worked exclusively against the Ukrainian president and has been on his blacklist.

"In fact, for the last three years I have worked against one person – this is Viktor Fedorovych [Yanukovych]. The others got in my articles just because they worked in his team and in his interests and they occupied a certain high place in the hierarchy, in his pyramid, i.e. I was on his blacklist," the activist said.

When asked whether she thinks that the order to attack her was personally given by Yanukovych, Chornovol said: "Yes."

"At present I think that it was so. Perhaps, there were personal reasons why he gave an order regarding me. I have recently made several steps that irritated him and his family. This concerns his residence," she said.

She also added that it was not so important who actually carried out the attack.

"I think that he found the people to accomplish this task, who did not come into the spotlight in my articles and investigations," Chornovol said.

She also noted that she suspected Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko "only as the executor of the will of Viktor Fedorovych," because these people "are not independent."

As reported, Chornovol was beaten in Kyiv region in the early hours of Wednesday. She was driving her car when she was cut off by a dark-colored car. Unidentified individuals pulled the journalist out of the car and beat her up, pushing her car into a ditch.

The police first opened criminal proceedings under part 2 of Article 269 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (disorderly conduct), which were later re-qualified for Part 2 of Article 121 of the Criminal Code (causing grievous bodily harm).

The police detained five suspects involved in the attack.