Defender of Democracy? Increasingly Authoritarian Zelensky Forbids Former President Poroshenko From Leaving Ukraine, Calls Him ‘A Tool in the Hands of the Russians’
Ukraine turns into a tyranny before our eyes.
Imagine a leader who has banned the opposition parties, totally censored the press, canceled the elections, and now is indulging in paranoid behavior to keep former presidents from even leaving the country.
Stop imagining: that’s Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine.
It is indeed a bad joke to call him a “defender of democracy.”
We are now informed that former President Petro Poroshenko was denied permission to leave Ukraine.
Kiev regime’s authorities say he was heading to a planned meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Associated Press reported:
“Poroshenko announced Friday that he had been turned away at the border despite previously receiving permission from Parliament to leave the country. Under martial law, Ukrainian men between 18 and 60 years of age are not allowed to leave the country without special approval.
The 58-year-old, who lost his re-election bid in 2019 to current Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, said that he had planned to meet with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, and the Polish parliament during his trip.
But security officials said that Poroshenko had also agreed to meet Orban, who has previously praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and refused to support Kiev’s bid for EU accession. In a statement on social media, they said such talks would make Poroshenko a ‘tool in the hands of the Russian special services’.”
Poroshenko called his experience at the border an “attack on unity,” and is yet to comment on the allegation that he planned to meet Orbán.
Zoltan Kovacs, International spokesman, Cabinet Office of the Hungarian Prime Minister, responded to the allegations:
In response to the statement published on the Security Service of Ukraine @ServiceSsu website:
Hungary does not wish to play any part in President @ZelenskyyUa’s internal political struggles. News reports such as this and these political purges are yet another indication that…— Zoltan Kovacs (@zoltanspox) December 2, 2023
Ukraine’s security service confirmed on Saturday it had prevented former president Petro Poroshenko from leaving the country, stating it did so on the grounds that Russia planned to exploit a scheduled meeting with Hungary’s prime minister to hurt Ukrainian interests.
Reuters reported:
“Poroshenko’s political party, European Solidarity, said the former president had scheduled only meetings in Poland and the United States and warned the SBU security service against becoming involved in politics.
[…] Of the possible meeting with Orbán, the SBU said: ‘Russia planned to use this meeting in psychological operations against Ukraine’.”
Zelenskiy’s office has not commented yet. The dispute comes amid tensions between the government and the opposition.
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