Ukraine gives reasons for preventing former president from leaving the country

Ukraine's security service said border guards prevented former President Poroshenko from leaving the country because he planned to travel to Hungary to meet Prime Minister Orban.

Ukraine's SBU security service said in a statement on December 2 that former President Petro Poroshenko planned to meet with Hungarian President Viktor Orban, a leader criticized by Kiev for his pro-Russian stance and opposition to opening talks on European Union (EU) membership with Ukraine.

"Mr. Orban systematically expresses anti-Ukrainian views, is a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin and is seeking to lift sanctions against Moscow," the SBU said.

The Ukrainian security service also accused Russia of preparing a series of provocations aimed at discrediting Ukraine in the eyes of its allies and planning to use the meeting between Mr Orban and Mr Poroshenko "in information and psychological operations against Ukraine". The SBU did not provide evidence for these allegations.

Mr Poroshenko's European Solidarity party later said the former president had only scheduled meetings in Poland and the US, and asked the SBU not to get involved in politics .

In response to the SBU's statement, Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs posted on social network X that Hungary "does not want to take any role in the internal political struggles of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky".

“News and political disputes like this are a sign that Ukraine is not yet ready to become an EU member,” Kovacs said.

Russia has not yet responded to the SBU's accusations.

Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kiev in May. Photo: AFP

Former President Poroshenko said on December 1 that he was prevented from leaving Ukraine despite having a permit, and that this was politically motivated. He said he planned to go to Poland to negotiate the lifting of the ban on Ukrainian agricultural products, then to the United States to lobby for military support for his country.

Ukraine has been under martial law for nearly two years. Ukrainian officials and politicians need special permits to travel to other countries. Under Ukrainian regulations, lawmakers will need foreign permits to attend political events.

Mr Poroshenko, who was in power from 2014 to 2019, had been banned from leaving the country, including in May 2022 when he planned to attend a meeting of the NATO parliamentary assembly in Lithuania.

After leaving office, Poroshenko was investigated for treason and corruption, a move he said was orchestrated by President Zelensky, his political rival and successor.

Poroshenko became an opposition MP after losing the 2019 election to Mr Zelensky. European Solidarity is the second-largest party in parliament, after Mr Zelensky's.

Poroshenko's foreign trip was thwarted at the last minute amid disagreements between the Ukrainian government and the opposition, mainly over budget issues and personnel appointments.

Ukrainian politics is also abuzz with rumors that President Zelensky is at odds with his generals over counter-offensive strategies, while the country has yet to decide whether to hold presidential elections in 2024.

Huyen Le (According to AFP , Reuters )

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