Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych made a rare appearance on Russian state media on Monday, where he criticized the European Union for its “arrogance” during negotiations with Kyiv prior to his 2014 ousting.

Yanukovych, a supporter of the Kremlin who fled to Russia after the violence of pro-EU protests in Kyiv resulted in numerous deaths, stated through state-run media that Brussels overlooked the economic challenges facing Ukraine.

“The complexity of Ukraine’s economic situation was not understood by them. To put it bluntly — they displayed arrogance,” Yanukovych remarked in a video shared by RIA Novosti.

He further cautioned that Ukraine’s potential membership in NATO would lead “directly to civil war,” emphasizing his consistent opposition to joining the alliance.

Russian media did not indicate when or where the video was filmed. Independent journalists noted that this was Yanukovych’s first public appearance since Russia began its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Ukrainian parliament impeached Yanukovych following the Maidan protests in 2014, and in 2019, he was sentenced in absentia to 13 years in prison for treason. Last year, President Volodymyr Zelensky revoked his Ukrainian citizenship.