The second president of Ukraine (1994-2005), Leonid Kuchma, became disillusioned with the former president (2010-2014) Viktor Yanukovych even before the events of Maidan, since the latter did not share his belief that power is not worth shedding the blood of citizens for.

"It is unpleasant to talk about disappointment of such strength and such a level. It is not that there was charm - no, there was not. The fact is that Yanukovych really had the potential to serve the country, instead of which he chose greed, and then bloodthirstiness, betrayal and shame," Kuchma said in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency.

"However, Yanukovych had become a disappointment to me long before that. I knew what he was capable of, even from the days of Maidan. Even then I understood that in our difficult face-to-face conversation he did not hear my words, that no government is worth shedding the blood of peaceful citizens for. What was an axiom for me, was just a sound for him," the second president added.

According to him, he did not communicate with Yanukovych after 2014, nor with anyone from his inner circle who left Ukraine with him. At the same time, Kuchma said that he had communicated since then with many former members of the Party of Regions, who were previously part of Yanukovych's team, but remained in Ukraine.