(Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged parliament on Tuesday to pass legislation that would define procedures to strip “traitors” of state awards previously bestowed on them, including the country’s highest honours.
Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address, named no individuals that would be subject to the proposed legislation to alter Ukraine’s criminal code.
He said the measure sought to “restore justice” by targeting those who “as a result of their actions, have lost the right to any respect from Ukrainians”.
“A legal mechanism is needed to effectively strip such individuals of all state awards of Ukraine and honorary titles,” he said.
“They deserve only one ‘title’ – traitors. And their ‘reward’ will be accountability to Ukraine and our people for everything done against Ukraine, against our state and against our independence.”
He said the legislation would apply to all state awards, including the country’s highest honour, Hero of Ukraine.
Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of Ukrainians have been accused of collaborating with Moscow, including a number of prominent personalities.
These include Viktor Medvedchuk, pro-Kremlin business magnate and chief of staff to former President Leonid Kuchma, who was sent to Russia after being included in a mass prisoner swap in September 2022.
Any legislation could also apply to former Prime Minister Mykola Azarov who fled Ukraine during the 2014 popular uprising that removed from power President Viktor Yanukovych, since convicted of treason in absentia.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Olexander Kozhukhar, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)