BEIJING, April 27. /TASS/. Moscow is considering the possibility of easing citizenship rules for all Ukrainian nationals, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference wrapping up his visit to China. Continue reading Russia eases citizenship for all Ukrainians
Russian Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov called Zelenskiy “the obvious choice“, adding that it was premature for Putin to call and congratulate the new president. Peskov also complained that the roughly three million Ukrainians living in Russia were not allowed to vote. It is unclear if he meant those living in Crimea, a peninsula annexed by the Russians in 2014. Even if Peskov’s three million Ukrainians voted for Poroshenko in the second round he would have had half the votes of Zelenskiy.
Zelenskiy also had two times the votes of his challengers in the first last month, which included Yulia Tymoshenko, a constant fixture in Ukrainian politics; a veritable Evita Peron.
Ukrainian comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy has won the second round of a presidential election against incumbent Petro Poroshenko by a landslide, a final national exit poll showed on Sunday. Continue reading Comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy wins Ukraine elections after incumbent president Petro Poroshenko concedes defeat
Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko swung hard for challenger Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a highly charged debate before more than 20,000 noisy spectators but probably failed to land enough blows to win their election run-off on Sunday.
At Kiev’s Olimpiyskiy Stadium on Friday evening they traded jabs for an hour over the incumbent’s alleged failure to fight graft and the popular comedian’s political inexperience.
Poroshenko kept the challenger waiting for a few minutes as he strode through the stadium, punching the air and waving to supporters, but then failed to seriously unsettle an accomplished performer who has a strong lead in the polls.
Zelenskiy swiftly went on the attack with a barrage of questions on the president’s record since 2014, when he took power after Ukraine’s Maidan revolution and Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and start of a proxy war in the eastern Donbas region.
Slick online ads and attention-grabbing antics have spiced up Ukraine’s presidential election, now shaped by the frontrunner – popular TV comic Volodymyr Zelensky.
Like heavyweight boxers, he and billionaire rival Petro Poroshenko – the incumbent president – have taunted each other over holding a public debate in Ukraine’s biggest sports stadium.
Mr Zelensky, 41, insisted that they both undergo drug and alcohol tests before such a debate could take place. Mr Poroshenko, 53, was unfazed and agreed. Continue reading Ukrainians Starving for Change On Course To Elect Comedian President Sunday
