Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk has said that the former Ukrainian authorities who were involved in the organization of crimes committed during the Revolution of Dignity late in 2013 and early in 2014, and who are now based in Russia, should be interrogated to ensure a full and unbiased investigation.

"The major issue is that the persons who are suspected of committing crimes against humanity – these are the former president of Ukraine [Viktor Yanukovych], the former chief of the Security Service of Ukraine [Oleksandr Yakymenko], and the former interior minister [Vitaly Zakharchenko] – have found political asylum and received citizenship in Russia <…> Russia provided them with protection, and we cannot interrogate them," he said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday.

Russian citizens, namely "the former president of Ukraine and his entire circle who are under Russian protection," should be questioned in order to ensure a full and comprehensive investigation, Yatseniuk said.

He said that information available to him indicated that "major evidence in those cases was destroyed by the former authorities, and to establish the truth in those cases, one needs to work actively and, which is the main thing, to question the organizers of the crimes who are now based in Russia."

Foreign partners are engaged and will be engaged in the investigation, Yatseniuk added.