Deposed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, whom Ukraine put on an international wanted list on mass murder charges, will hold a news conference in southern Russia on Friday, Feb 28, an official close to him said, according to RIA Novosti.

The conference will take place at 17:00 Moscow time (1.00 pm GMT) in the city of Rostov-on-Don at a venue to be announced soon.

Anonymous government sources said earlier that Russia had accepted Yanukovych’s request for security and that the fugitive leader was currently on the Russian territory.

Yanukovych’s whereabouts have been the subject of feverish speculation.

He is wanted in Ukraine for allegedly being responsible for the recent deaths of dozens of protesters and was last seen in the Crimean seaside town of Balaklava on Sunday evening, according to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry.