Ukrainian law enforcement officers have conducted searches in Kyiv and Donetsk region at homes of people from the entourage of the country's disgraced former president Viktor Yanukovych and a former National Security and Defense Council secretary, Andriy Kliuyev.

"The special investigations directorate of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office, jointly with the national anti-corruption bureau, the criminal investigation department of the Ukrainian national police for Donetsk region, conducted a number of searches in Kyiv and Donetsk region at the homes of individuals from the entourage of V. Yanukovych and A. Kliuyev as part of a criminal inquiry into the illegal crackdown on protests, killings and other crimes during the Maidan [protests]," the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office said on Wednesday.

The searches led to a seizure of items and documents which, combined with the other evidence available, are highly important for the criminal inquiry, the spokesperson said.

Officers also seized several thousand cartridges and documents, including papers signed by leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, special devices enabling remote access to foreign bank accounts, financial schemes and false accounting paperwork, an offshore company seal, and electronic data storage devices, the spokesperson said.

The inquiry continues, the evidence obtained will be analyzed and evaluated and procedural decisions made accordingly.

The statement does not say whose homes were searched.