Petro Poroshenko is charged with treason. On Friday, he was pictured with an AK-47 in the streets of Kyiv while promising to fight for his country.
Not everyone reported from the streets of Kyiv to CNN. For four years, Petro Poroshenko was the country’s supreme leader. On Friday, he was at the head of the territorial defense forces, a troop of reserve soldiers.
He had 300 soldiers with him, but no artillery or tanks. On the other side of the conflict is the military superiority of the Russian invasion forces. The question from CNN seemed justified:
– How long can you last?
– Forever. I think Putin will never take Ukraine. No matter how many soldiers, missiles and nuclear weapons he has, Poroshenko replied.
He promised the American news channel to fight for his country. It is not long since he was accused of doing the opposite.
Charged with treason
In late January, Poroshenko flew from Poland to Ukraine. The reason was that he was to appear in court in Kyiv, accused of treason.
The public prosecutor believes the man who was president between 2014 and 2019 has financed Russian-backed pro-Russian separatists. Between 2014 and 2015, Poroshenko is said to have sold large quantities of coal. The proceeds will be given to the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. It was Russia’s recognition of these two territories as independent states that marked the beginning of the invasion.
According to The Guardian Poroshenko risks up to 15 years in prison. The former president’s funds were frozen as part of the investigation.
But not everyone thinks the ex-president is a traitor. At the airport, he was greeted by a welcome committee with the supporters. They stubbornly claim that the allegations against Poroshenko are fabricated. Poroshenko himself has said that they are politically motivated. That he be prosecuted by current President Volodymyr Zelenskyj.
–Poroshenko also has people around him in the streets of Kyiv, he says.
– We have achieved this in two days. There are always people who want to enlist in our fight. But we do not have enough weapons. That’s our limit, he told CNN.
– Several of these are ordinary people, who have never been in the army before. Now they are in line to join the fight. It is very moving and demonstrates how much the Ukrainians hate Putin.
–“Will show that we are not afraid of them”
Just over a month after Poroshenko returned to Ukraine, the country was invaded by Russia. His description of Putin is anything but pro-Russian.
– We will take care of Putin as if he were a crazy man. He’s simply crazy. An evil man who comes here to kill Ukrainians, he says.
He now calls on NATO, the EU and the United States for help in the fighting that is taking place in their home country. The invasion of Ukraine is a war against the whole world, he says.
– We need the sanctions that make Putin weaker, that make him bleed money. At the same time, it is important to block Russian ships and planes in NATO ports.
– Do you think you are a specific target for the Russian forces?
– I have thought so for several years. “For me, it is important to show that we are not afraid of them,” Poroshenko told CNN.
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