Poroshenko accuses Zelenskyy of authoritarianism: «His actions are no different from Russia's»

Petro Poroshenko. Photo: eurosolidarity.org

In an interview with The Times, former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko accused current President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of attempting to usurp power and eliminate political rivals.

According to him, Zelenskyy «wants to rule Ukraine with an iron fist» and seeks to remove any opposition. He also stated that the sanctions imposed on him are politically motivated: «Today it is Poroshenko, tomorrow it is Zaluzhnyi, and the day after tomorrow it could be anyone».

Poroshenko claims that the president is acting out of personal animosity.

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«He hates me on a biological, chemical level. And, to be honest, I don't like Zelenskyy either,» he said.

Despite this, he said, he did not act in a hostile manner towards the current government during the war.

Poroshenko also criticised the ban on his attendance at parliamentary sessions and called it a violation of the Constitution.

«This is absolutely no different from Russia,» he said.

Despite the harsh rhetoric, Poroshenko said he did not want to criticise Zelenskyy, but only advised him to learn from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, particularly in matters of interaction with Donald Trump.

Earlier, Poroshenko said that President Zelenskyy's team was leading Ukraine to a dictatorship. At the time, he emphasised that «Ukraine is not Russia, and we will not allow a dictatorship to emerge in Ukraine. This is a big difference».

It should also be noted that the basis for the sanctions against the leader of «European Solidarity» Petro Poroshenko was a criminal case of treason, as well as other charges related to his political and business activities.