Kyiv bans former president from leaving the country for fear of “instrumentalization”

Rival of President Volodymyr Zelensky, Petro Poroshenko was not allowed to leave Ukraine when he had scheduled meetings with the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, because he ran the risk of being “instrumentalized by the Russians”, the security services admitted today in a statement cited by the news agency France Press (AFP).

The SBU alleges that the former head of state could have been “manipulated by the Russian secret services”.

At issue would be “the preparation of provocations” by the Russians, with the aim of “reducing support from foreign partners” and “dividing Ukrainian society”.

Petro Poroshenko, who led Ukraine between 2014 and 2019 and is now an opposition deputy, revealed on Friday that he had been blocked at the border when he was preparing to hold “dozens of meetings in Poland and the United States”.

The security services allege that Moscow intended to use a meeting between Petro Poroshenko and Viktor Orban, accused of being “anti-Ukrainian”.

In response to the SBU statement, Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs wrote in X that Hungary did not wish to “play any role in President Zelensky’s internal political struggles.”

On Friday, Orban said the European Union should offer Ukraine a “strategic partnership agreement” instead of opening accession talks with the war-torn country.

Without making any reference to a planned meeting with the Hungarian prime minister, Petro Poroshenko said he would discuss US military aid and the border blockade by Polish truck drivers.

For Petro Poroshenko, the ban on his leaving the country represented “anti-Ukrainian sabotage”.

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