The hearing lasted almost twelve hours, after which the former president was able to leave the Pechersky district court in Kiev. It was an eventful start to the week for Petro Poroshenko, who flew back to his Ukrainian homeland from Warsaw on Monday after four weeks abroad. The border guards at the airport checked his passport for a quarter of an hour to check whether the man standing in front of their pane of glass really was Petro Poroshenko. He was it. Then the former head of state gave a speech to supporters, saying that the Ukrainians unite, that they have to show how strong the country is and that it “can withstand Vladimir Putin’s aggression”. But domestically there is little to be seen of this unity.
Poroshenko, 56, President of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019, one of the richest people in the country, has to face charges of treason and terrorism. He faces a prison sentence of up to 15 years. His appeal for Ukrainian unity in the conflict with Russia was followed by accusations against his successor, President Volodymyr Zelensky. He’s betraying the country, and instead of fighting Putin, he’s trying to “fight us.” Conversely, Zelenskiy’s party “Servants of the People” accused Poroshenko of creating an artificial scandal. His party “European Solidarity” in turn spoke of an “attack on democracy and freedom of speech”. In addition to the Ukrainian population’s fear of a Russian invasion, there are now growing concerns about a second, internal front.
The allegations are serious: according to the prosecution, Poroshenko canceled contracts for the supply of coal from South Africa in 2014 and 2015 and at the same time organized coal to be supplied from the eastern Ukrainian areas controlled by pro-Russian separatists. He is said to have supported their terror, all with the help of then-Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchishin and Viktor Medvedchuk, an opposition MP whose eldest daughter Russian President Putin is a godfather.
Melinda Simmons, the British Ambassador to Kiev, tweeted a few days agothat “in these times more than ever before, political leaders in Ukraine must show themselves as one and avoid any polarization”. She called on the Ukrainian judicial authorities to be independent and fair in the Poroshenko case. Apparently she’s not sure about that. This Wednesday, the court wants to decide whether Poroshenko should be remanded in custody or released on bail of around 30 million euros.
A pro-Moscow politician is under house arrest
The rivalry between Poroshenko and President Zelensky, who clearly won the election three years ago against his predecessor, is immense. Zelensky had promised to curb the political influence of Ukrainian entrepreneurs. The pro-Moscow Medvedchuk is already under house arrest, and several of his media outlets have been shut down, much to Putin’s annoyance. So Poroshenko? He is known as the “Chocolate King” because of his elite chocolates, which are well-known in Eastern Europe, and his chocolate empire. He also has shares in two nationwide television stations; he has now signed some of them over to his son. But above all: Poroshenko is head of the opposition party European Solidarity.
The suspicion is therefore circulating – and not only in the Poroshenko camp – that Zelensky could want to use the judiciary to get rid of a political opponent in the shadow of the foreign policy crisis with Russia, while he himself is being criticized for faltering reforms. He is repeatedly accused of being close to a powerful oligarch, with whose help he became president in the first place. Its popularity ratings have fallen significantly in recent months.