Ex-Ukrainian leader Poroshenko returns to face treason charges
Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko
is due back in a Kyiv court Wednesday as a judge considers whether to grant him
bail or order his arrest in a treason case he says is politically motivated.
Poroshenko, who led Ukraine from 2014-19,
returned to the country Monday to face the charges, and told supporters at the
airport that he had come back to help Ukraine face the “growing threat of
Russian invasion.”
He added to that message in a series of
tweets Tuesday, saying with the help of its international partners, Ukraine
“will stand our ground.”
“My sincere gratitude go for the
extraordinary attention paid today to the support of Ukraine, especially of our
fight against the ongoing aggression of the Kremlin, by our allies in
Washington and London, in Berlin and Paris, in Brussels and Ottawa, in the
entire European Union, NATO,” Poroshenko posted.
Prosecutors accuse Poroshenko of treason for
allegedly using illegal coal sales to finance Russian-backed separatists from
2014-15. If convicted, he could face 15 years in prison.
He was in court Monday for a hearing that ran
nearly 12 hours, with the court deferring until Wednesday the decision whether
to grant Poroshenko bail or order his arrest. Prosecutors have requested bail
be set at $35 million.
Poroshenko’s return comes as Ukraine faces a
tense standoff with neighboring Russia. Tens of thousands of Russian troops
have amassed near the border with Ukraine, prompting the United States to
express concern that Russian President Vladimir Putin might be planning an
invasion.
A U.S. delegation visited Kyiv on Monday to
show support for Ukraine amid the standoff.
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, told
VOA’s Ukrainian Service, “We have Democrats and Republicans of very different
political views here to say we stand with Ukraine, and if Vladimir Putin
chooses to take this treacherous anti-democratic path of invading this country,
there will be severe and swift sanctions.”
U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer, a Republican, told
VOA, “The United States won’t just sit idly by and be a bystander if something
happens. What we would like to do is prevent it from happening. We want to be a
deterrent. We want to be part of the solution before fighting commences.”
Poroshenko came to power in 2014 after street
protests ousted then-President Viktor Yanukovych. He is credited with
strengthening Ukraine’s army after Russia annexed Crimea and backed separatist
fighters in eastern Ukraine. Poroshenko, however, lost elections in 2019
following a corruption scandal and charges that he had not done enough to
implement political reforms.
Poroshenko owns a confectionery empire and is
often called Ukraine’s “chocolate king.” Forbes magazine
estimates his fortune at $1.6 billion.
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