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Zelensky outstrips Poroshenko in terms of persecution of opposition — expert

Political analyst Kirill Molchanov noted that Zelensky had turned the former president’s declarative slogans into actual repressions, sanctions and criminal prosecution of those forces that called for dialogue with Russia

KIEV, July 19. /TASS/. Ukraine’s current President Vladimir Zelensky is following largely in the wake of his predecessor Pyotr Poroshenko’s policy. Moreover, he has even outstripped the former president in terms of the persecution of opposition who advocate dialogue with Russia, the Vesti news outlet reported quoting political analyst Kirill Molchanov.

"Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has not merely adopted his predecessor Pyotr Poroshenko’s rhetoric, he has even outstripped him as he has turned the former president’s declarative slogans into actual repressions, sanctions and criminal prosecution of those forces that call for dialogue with Russia. A vivid example of that is the situation around lawmaker and the leader of the Opposition Platform For Life Viktor Medvedchuk, who is being accused of high treason," he said.

According to Molchanov, parties calling for closer relations, at least economic ties, with Russia are subject to persecution. The authorities are seeking to "silence those forces that want to offer a reconciliatory agenda to our key neighbor, which will always be next to us, at least in geographical terms," he stressed.

He also noted that the president is acting "by shutting down television channels, by laws that only widen the gaps in society, such as the law on secondary education or the law on the use of the Ukrainian language in the sphere of culture."

"As a matter of fact, Zelensky has become the same hawk Pyotr Poroshenko used to be," the expert added.

In May, leader of the Opposition Platform For Life Viktor Medvedchuk was charged with high treason and "violation of laws and customs of war,". He has been placed under house arrest and condemns the charges as politically motivated and ungrounded.

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Ukraine crisis Pyotr Poroshenko Vladimir Zelensky

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