Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has revoked a state award previously granted to Dmytro Tabachnyk, a former Ukrainian education minister and ally of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych.
Nausėda signed a decree Wednesday requiring Tabachnyk to return the Order of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas, 2nd Class.
Tabachnyk was awarded the honour in 1996 for his contributions to developing relations between Lithuania and Ukraine. At the time, he served as head of the administration of then-Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Tabachnyk was accused of state treason. He lost his Ukrainian citizenship after acquiring Russian citizenship and in 2024 was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison.
On November 22, 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree removing Tabachnyk from the list of recipients of Ukrainian state awards.
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