President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday afternoon began to testify as a witness in the case of high treason of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych in a videoconference mode from the presidential administration building.

Within the framework of this trial, the following 44 prosecution witnesses have already been interrogated: Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Acting President of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov, former Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Verkhovna Rada Speaker Andriy Parubiy, Interior Minister of Ukraine Arsen Avakov, former head of the Security Service of Ukraine Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, ex-head of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and former Interior Minister Anatoliy Mohyliov; head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, people's deputy Refat Chubarov, ex-MP Andriy Senchenko.

The witnesses for the prosecution were also former permanent representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, Yuriy Serheyev; deputy minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine, Serhiy Kyslytsia, former acting president of Ukraine, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland Andriy Deschytsia and a number of Ukrainian diplomats.

The testimony in court was also given by a number of former and current high-ranking military personnel: former acting Defense Minister of Ukraine Ihor Teniukh, Ukrainian Navy Commander Ihor Voronchenko, former Ukrainian Navy Commander Serhiy Haiduk, former Chief of the General Staff and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Volodymyr Zamana, former First Deputy Head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Pavlo Shysholin, as well as several servicemen of the State Guard Department of Ukraine, who were responsible for Yanukovych's security during his presidency.

Yanukovych's lawyers had 138 witnesses, but the court selected only 16, who can be questioned if they arrive at the meeting. Among them are former Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov, former Head of the Presidential Administration and former NSDC Secretary Andriy Kliuyev, former Ukrainian Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko, former Chief of the Security Service of Ukraine Oleksandr Yakymenko, and former Defense Minister Pavlo Lebedev.

The court also permitted interrogation of former Commander of Interior Troops of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry Stanislav Shuliak, former commander of the Ukrainian Navy and ex-Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Yuriy Illin, ex-Head of the SBU Directorate in Kyiv and Kyiv region Oleksandr Scheholev, and ex-Foreign Minister of Ukraine Leonid Kozhara.

Obolonsky District Court of Kyiv began to consider the criminal trial on charges of high treason of Yanukovych on June 26, 2017. On June 29, the court decided to consider this case under a special (absentia) procedure in connection with the defendant's failure to appear in court.

Yanukovych is accused of high treason and encroachment on the territorial integrity of the state (Articles 110 and 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).