The Office of the Prosecutor's General of Ukraine calls Former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych for questioning as a suspect on Tuesday, October 17.

The corresponding notice paper was published on the website of the Prosecutor General's Office on Friday.

"Yanukovych Viktor Fyodorovych, born in 1950, in accordance with requirements of Article 133 and Article 135 of the Criminal Procedure Code, you need to appear on October 17, 2017 at 11:30 in room 307 of the Criminal Investigation Department of the General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine at the address: 18 Borysohlibska Street in Kyiv to participate in the conduct of investigative and procedural actions into criminal proceedings No. 42014000000000416, in particular, for interrogation as a suspect," the published information says.

In addition, ex-Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko has been summoned for questioning on October 17 at 09:30 at the same address, along with ex-chief of Kyiv's militia Valeriy Koriak, who is to appear at 10:30.

The Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency has learned the men will be questioned about the illegal detainment of [Metropolitan of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky] Oleksandr Drabynko, the personal assistant to the deceased head of the Ukraine's Russian Orthordox Church, Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine, Volodymyr [Sabodan].

As reported, the pretrial investigation is underway pursuant to Part 2 of Article 146 (kidnapping) and Part 1 of Article 365 (exceeding authority or grants of authority by a law-enforcement body) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine based on Ukraine's Criminal Code. It involves Novinsky, Yanukovych and former Interior Minister Zakharchenko, Koriak, as well as other employees of Kyiv's law-enforcement agencies. The men are suspected of holding Drabynko against his will.

Lutsenko on November 3, 2016 said Yanukovych attempted to appoint his allies to high church posts. Without means to legally replace Sabodan, Yanukovych decided to force Sabodan to abdicate… and to appoint Metropolitan of Boryspil and Brovary Antoniy (Pakanych) as a replacement … in order for the latter to influence the mood in the society.

The PGO head said Zakharchenko, in turn, ordered Koriak to collect information about people close to Metropolitan Volodymyr. Ukraine's former Interior Minister was supposed to illegally detain Drabynko, which would have forced the head of the church to resign from his position.

According to Lutsenko, Zakharchenko forced Drabynko to write a statement requesting security from the court police unit Gryfon. Koriak, in turn, granted the request and "isolated Drabynko."

The security detail turned into a convoy, Lutsenko said.

Koriak then "gave Gryfon the order" to keep Drabynko in the Opera Hotel, that is, kept him against his will there, and later moved Drabynko to another location.

In addition, Zakharchenko demanded Drabynko to urge Volodymyr to resign.

"All these events are backed by up witness testimony," Lutsenko said, adding that on September 5, 2013 there was a meeting between Yanukovych, Novinsky, Metropolitan Volodymyr and Drabynko, during which "Yanukovych tasked Novinsky with keeping Drabynko in confinement. Novinsky agreed to obey the instructions."

According to Lutsenko, from September 2013 through December 2013 Novinsky reported by telephone information about the whereabouts of Drabynko (some 40 calls were made from Novinsky's telephone to Koriak).

On December 8, 2016 parliament upheld the motion of Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko for his consent to strip parliamentary immunity from Novinsky.