Fugitive President Yanukovych Has New Secret Life in Russia. Here’s What We Know

Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled Ukraine in 2014, has built a new life in Russia under what investigators believe is a false identity, living with his longtime partner at a secluded estate in Sochi while members of his family accumulated millions of dollars in property and financial assets.

According to an investigation by Telebachennia Toronto published on July 25, Yanukovych is believed to reside at the Blagodat estate in Sochi with his longtime partner, Liubov Polezhai, who reportedly uses her maiden surname, Sadykova, in Russia.

Journalists also identified a man traveling with her under the name Oleg Nikolayevich Leonov, whom they believe may be Yanukovych using an assumed identity. The reported birth date matches Yanukovych’s—July 9, 1950—while the surname Leonov corresponds to his mother’s maiden name.

The investigation also found that former officers of Ukraine’s State Protection Department (UDO) who fled alongside Yanukovych in 2014 are now serving in Russia’s Federal Protective Service (FSO) and are stationed in Sochi.

Flight records reviewed by Telebachennia Toronto show the guards frequently traveling with Polezhai and her relatives, suggesting they continue to provide security for Yanukovych’s inner circle.

According to the investigation, Sadykova has accumulated more than 370 hectares of land around Sochi and over 2,400 square meters of real estate, including five apartments, five houses, four commercial properties, and two apartments in Moscow. Telebachennia Toronto estimates the assets are worth more than $8 million.

The journalists also report that Yanukovych’s eldest son, Oleksandr, now lives in Russia under the surname Sokolov together with his wife and two sons. According to Telebachennia Toronto, he had access until May 2026 to a facial recognition and tracking system used by Russian security services and was granted editing privileges.

Flight records also showed him traveling with senior FSB officials, including former Fifth Service chief Sergey Beseda.

The investigation further alleges that Oleksandr Yanukovych’s wife, Olena, has acquired more than 27,000 square meters of real estate in Russia while holding approximately $3.5 million in bank deposits in 2024. According to Telebachennia Toronto, she and the couple’s two sons also hold citizenship of the United Arab Emirates in addition to Russian citizenship.

Journalists additionally report that Yanukovych’s former wife, Liudmyla, is believed to be living in temporarily occupied Crimea, while former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka and his wife allegedly traveled in Russia using different identities.

Yanukovych fled Ukraine in February 2014 during the Revolution of Dignity . According to Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation, he illegally crossed the state border with assistance from Russian military personnel and security services before being transported through Russia and temporarily occupied Crimea.

Ukrainian investigators say the operation was coordinated by Russia’s Federal Protective Service (FSO) and approved at the highest levels of the Russian government.

Earlier, on April 28, 2025, a Kyiv court sentenced Yanukovych in absentia to 15 years in prison for organizing his illegal escape from Ukraine to Russia in 2014 and inciting members of his security detail to desert.

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