Sanctions against Poroshenko: Zelensky puts pressure on the opposition through law enforcement agencies

Sanctions against the fifth President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, have become an element of the current government’s political strategy and pressure on the opposition. Law enforcement agencies are used to implement it.

This is stated in the material of the American publication Politico entitled “Politics in Wartime – Ukrainian Style.”

The authors of the publication analyze how Ukrainian law enforcement agencies can be used to pressure the opposition and at the same time – to protect individuals close to the state leadership.

“After what happened in July with the anti-corruption agencies, politics in Ukraine has returned. It is impossible to hide this,” said a former Ukrainian minister, who wished to remain anonymous.

He added that the President’s aides are allegedly using security forces to intimidate critics and political opponents.

“Essentially, the tactic is, ‘you say something against us, we’ll prosecute you and impose sanctions.’ They are essentially blackmailing all their potential opponents or perceived opponents,” another former minister said.

Politico recalls that shortly after Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected to office in 2019, more than 20 criminal cases were opened against Petro Poroshenko, including suspicion of treason. In February of this year, the President signed a decree on sanctions against Poroshenko, which includes freezing assets and banning financial transactions. This decision, the publication notes, has drawn criticism and accusations of political motivation.

Journalists also note that anti-corruption structures, despite their formal independence, remain under pressure.

“Prominent civil society activists claim that the attack on their independence has been replaced by a covert crackdown on these bodies. They allege that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is being used in a campaign of intimidation of anti-corruption agencies and to block investigations into the president’s insiders,” Politico writes.

Executive Director of the Anti-Corruption Center, Dariya Kaleniuk, emphasized that “the immediate goal of the authorities is to discredit the entire anti-corruption system.”

The newspaper also reports a growing number of investigations into former generals accused of mistakes at the start of the war. One former minister suggests that such activity may be an attempt to neutralize the possible influence of former commander-in-chief Valeriy Zaluzhny.

“The criminal cases against the generals and the losses incurred in 2022 are potential leverage that the President’s aides are considering using against Zaluzhny,” Politico notes.

As a reminder, the panel of judges of the Cassation Administrative Court under the Supreme Court continued to consider Petro Poroshenko’s lawsuit to cancel the decree imposing sanctions against him , which the politician considers illegal.

Also, on the websites of the President of Ukraine and the National Security and Defense Council , there are still two versions of documents regarding the application of sanctions against Poroshenko .

Earlier, Petro Poroshenko’s lawyer Ilya Novikov reported that the materials on the basis of which illegal sanctions were imposed were submitted retroactively .