photo: Ukrainska pravda
Petro Poroshenko, the fifth president of Ukraine and current member of the «European Solidarity» (EU) party, has returned to Ukraine. This morning, 17 January, he flew from Warsaw to Kyiv’s «Zhuliany» airport. Thousands of supporters gathered near the airport to support the former president, among them many Lviv residents.
People shouted «Zelia away!», referring to the disparaging nickname of president Zelenskiy, and held placards with the slogans «No dictatorship», «Ukraine does not deserve Ze-love», «Ukraine needs Gunpowder» [people informally call Poroshenko «porokh», which in Ukrainian means «gunpowder»], «I’ll be back, Poroshenko», «We have gunpowder – let’s give fire» and so on.
Read also: Treason and aiding terrorism? A state organ informed ex-president Poroshenko about the suspicion
According to the independent media «Ukrainska pravda», after arriving at the airport in Ukraine, Poroshenko gave his passport to the customs control and couldn’t get it back for several minutes, until the investigation officer ordered the customs employees to return the document to its holder. The officers of the State Bureau of Investigation also tried to serve a summons on the former president, but he refused to take it. We will remind that today at 11:00, the session started in the Pechersk court of the city of Kyiv, at which Poroshenko will choose a measure of restraint in case of treason.
Petro Poroshenko addressed his supporters at the airport and went to court from there.
Earlier, it was reported that he could return to Ukraine via Lviv. Instead, today, supporters of the former president are gathering a peaceful rally at Lviv airport. This is stated in a letter of the People’s Deputy from the «EU» Oleh Syniutka to Mayor Andrii Sadovyi, which Lviv Now provided in the press service of the Lviv City Council.
I would like to inform you that 17 January 2022 from 13:00 to 15:00 at the address: Lyubinska, 168, Lviv, a mass peaceful public meeting will be held in defence of democracy and the law,» – the statement reads.
At the same time, in a comment to Lviv Now, the Lviv branch of the EU party clarified that Petro Poroshenko’s visit to Lviv was not planned.
It should be added that former President Petro Poroshenko was signed on suspicion of treason and aiding terrorism as part of an investigation into the illegal supply of coal from the occupied territories. People’s Deputy and Putin’s godfather Viktor Medvedchuk is also a suspect in the case. Earlier, Poroshenko was summoned for questioning, but he said he was abroad. The Office of the Prosecutor General approved a request to impose a measure of restraint on former President Petro Poroshenko in the form of arrest with the possibility of bail in the amount of UAH 1 billion.
Yulia Osym, translated by Vitalii Holich
Photos and videos from the Facebook pages of Oleh Syniutka and Iryna Herashchenko
You can read a Ukrainian language version of this story here.
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Lviv Now is an English-language website for Lviv, Ukraine’s «tech-friendly cultural hub.» It is produced by Tvoe Misto («Your City») media-hub, which also hosts regular problem-solving public forums to benefit the city and its people.
