Former Ukrainian President Poroshenko to run in next election

According to RIA Novosti news agency on April 3, in an interview with Al Jazeera, former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko revealed that he will participate in the next Ukrainian presidential election.

“If you ask me whether I intend to run in the next election, then yes,” Mr. Poroshenko said in an interview.

According to Mr. Poroshenko, to hold elections, Ukraine needs to win the conflict with Russia.

Former President Petro Poroshenko was in power from 2014 to 2019. Before the Ukraine-Russia tensions erupted, Poroshenko was in court to face treason charges, allegedly for his involvement in financially supporting pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine.

Mr. Poroshenko became an opposition party member after losing the election to incumbent President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Mr Poroshenko - also a businessman and considered one of the richest men in Ukraine - said the charges against him were politically motivated and aimed at dividing the country. In December 2023, Mr Poroshenko was prevented from leaving the country.

Presidential elections in Ukraine were scheduled for March 31, 2024, but were canceled due to martial law and general mobilization. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the elections now were “not the right time”.

On Moscow's side, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia will analyze the situation related to President Zelensky's term ending in May 2024, to declare its stance.

Earlier, on April 2, Igor Kimakovsky, an adviser to the head of Donetsk, said that President Zelensky may be expecting a coup from Western-supported security forces starting in late spring.

Mr. Kimakovsky commented that the West has put President Zelensky in this situation, "playing a game" in which some support elections, others oppose. For example, US Senator Lindsey Graham - who firmly demands that Ukraine hold elections; while the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that this is an internal matter of Ukraine.