A Ukrainian court on Thursday found the country's former President Viktor Yanukovych guilty of treason.

Kiev's Obolon district court sentenced Yanukovych in absentia to 13 years in prison.

"Yanukovych committed a crime against the foundation of Ukraine's national security," judge Vladyslav Devyatko said.

According to the sentence, his conduct in office had opened the door to Russia's annexation of Crimea and conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Yanukovych and his corrupt regime sparked massive protests when he ditched an association accord with the European Union, and then fled to Russia in early 2014 after a bloody crackdown in Kiev failed to quell the demonstrations.