Ex-President faces arrest
Poroshenko returned to Ukraine
01/17/2022, 12:13 p.m
Petro Poroshenko lands in Kiev to cheers from his supporters. The former head of state of Ukraine is in the country for a court hearing. He is accused of high treason, among other things. Now it is decided whether he will be remanded in custody.
Ex-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has returned to Ukraine despite the threat of arrest. Poroshenko landed in the Ukrainian capital Kiev in the morning with a plane from Warsaw. According to him, there were chaotic scenes at passport control because border officials tried to prevent him from entering the country. Thousands of the ex-president’s supporters gathered near the airport to receive Poroshenko. A court in Kiev is due to decide later today whether the former head of state should be taken into custody.
“We are here to unite and defend Ukraine,” Poroshenko told his supporters, who held placards reading “We need democracy.” “Now I’m going to court where we’re going to give them a fight,” he announced. The ex-president stressed that he had returned to support Ukraine in the face of the “growing threat of a Russian invasion”. He accused his successor, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, of “treason” against his own country.
Billionaire Poroshenko ruled Ukraine from 2014 to 2019 before losing to Zelenskyy in the elections. According to their own statements, the authorities are investigating dozens of crimes in which the 56-year-old is said to be involved. In December they announced that they suspected the leader of the opposition European Solidarity party of “high treason”.
Ex-presidents face up to years in prison
Poroshenko is suspected by investigators of enabling pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine to sell coal in 2014 and 2015. It is about a volume of around 48 million euros. Since 2014, Kiev has been fighting the pro-Russian rebels who have set up two self-declared people’s republics in the east of the country. The ex-president faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Poroshenko said on Sunday that Ukraine was facing the “biggest” security risk in 30 years. Tensions with Moscow have boiled over in recent months as Russia massed tens of thousands of troops on Ukraine’s eastern border. The West is therefore warning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In a video published on Facebook, Poroshenko accused his successor of not doing enough to protect Ukraine from Russia. He offered cooperation: “We are ready to help the authorities,” he said, adding that his party will “support all initiatives aimed at strengthening the defense potential of our state and the European orientation of our country”.