Zelensky imposes sanctions against ex-President Poroshenko, former president says

Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) has imposed sanctions against ex-President Petro Poroshenko, the former president said in a statement.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that an official decree will be published on Feb. 13, without naming Poroshenko by name.

Poroshenko did not specify what restrictions would be imposed on him in his video address, but the sanctions could be implemented based on alleged “high treason,” according to Forbes Ukraine, which cited two sources.

“The National Security and Defense Council has just made an unconstitutional, politically motivated decision to impose sanctions against me, Petro Poroshenko, the leader of the opposition and the fifth president (of Ukraine),” Poroshenko said in a statement.

“Today, Zelensky has dealt a huge blow to the internal unity that our team has been strictly adhering to since February 2022 and which is our main weapon in the fight against the aggressor,” he said.

“All responsibility for the negative consequences lies directly with him,” Poroshenko added.

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In his evening address, Zelensky said he had participated in the Defense Council meeting and that its decisions would be published the following day.

“We are defending our country and restoring justice. Everyone who destroyed the national security of Ukraine and helped Russia must be held accountable (for their actions),” Zelensky said without specifying who exactly could be penalized and what that would mean.

Poroshenko served one term as Ukraine’s president from 2014 until 2019. Volodymyr Zelensky dealt a decisive defeat to Poroshenko in the 2019 election, securing 73.22% of the vote against his opponent’s 24.45% in the second round.

Following Zelensky’s victory, over 20 criminal cases were opened against Poroshenko. He was charged with treason, his shares in 19 companies were seized, and his affiliated companies received multimillion-dollar fines from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, according to Forbes Ukraine.

After the start of the full-scale invasion, the investigation of criminal cases against the former president was suspended.

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