KIEV, October 29. /TASS/. Radicals, who said they were members of the Liberation opposition movement, announced on Saturday evening they had "blocked" the Vinntsa production facility of Roshen, the key asset of billionaire Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko’s business.
"The guys in Vinnitsa have sprung into action. Activists of the Liberation movement started blocking the factory of Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko’s Roshen in Vinnitsa," the activists said on their Facebook page.
No other details about the protest, including the number of participants, is immediately known.
Earlier in the day, radical activists have announced their intentions to start a blockade of the logistics center of Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko’s Roshen confectionery company near Kiev.
Later it became known that the blockade was intended to serve as a warning to Poroshenko. However, its participants suggested nationalizing the company and warned it may be confiscated. "Roshen might be nationalized. If it has not been sold yet, we will seize it," a fighter of the Donbass battalion said in a video posted on Facebook.
Facilities of Poroshenko’s Roshen confectionery company are occassionally attacked by radical groups. A year ago, the company published videos of attacks on its shops in four various districts of the capital Kiev.
The footage shows groups of between two and five people approaching the shops, with stones and incendiary liquid at the ready. The attackers smash shop windows, set buildings on fire and flee. Only one attacker was detained, an underage person who said he was an activist of a public organization.
In line with the constitution of Ukraine, a president is prohibited from being a member of a governing body or the supervisory board of a company whose aim is to generate a profit.
During his election campaign, Poroshenko claimed he would sell all his business assets except Ukraine’s Channel Five TV. However, the president still failed to fulfill his promise, drawing anger from various opposition groups. According to earlier media reports, Poroshenko only handed over his share in Roshen to a foreign organization as part of a blind trust deal with Rothschild Trust.
On Thursday, Kiev-based Novoye Vremya [New Times] magazine said Ukraine’s President Pyotr Poroshenko continued beefing up his private wealth. Compared with 2016, Poroshenko increased his wealth by another 7%, to one billion dollars.
Confectionery producer Roshen is the key asset of Poroshenko’s business. The president indicated in the declaration for 2016 that he was a benefiting owner of 99 companies, including the International Investment Bank, Leninskaya’s Kuznya [Lenin’s Foundry] plant, Vneshekonomservis marketing firm, Kraina insurance company, Prime Assets Capital investment fund, and some others.
Novoye Vremya placed him to fifth position on the list of Top 20 Wealthiest Ukrainians.
Earlier this week, protesters camped outside the Ukrainian parliament, Verkhovna Rada, announced a five-day ultimatum to the president. They said the parliament must pass a bill on impeaching the president and on setting up the anti-corruption court within five working days, or face consequences.