#Ex-Ukrainian #President #Poroshenko #Faces #Treason #Charges
INTERNATIONAL: Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is back in a Kyiv court Wednesday as a judge considers whether to grant him bail or order his arrest in a treason case he says is politically motivated.
Poroshenko, who led Ukraine from 2014-19, has returned to the country on Monday to face the charges, and told supporters at the airport that he had come back to help Ukraine face the “growing threat of Russian invasion.”
The former president has landed in Kyiv on Monday, 17 January to face treason charges in a criminal case he says was trumped up by allies of his successor, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
He added to that message in a series of tweets Tuesday, saying with the help of its international partners, Ukraine “will stand our ground.”
In a brief standoff at border control, he has accused the border guards of taking away his passport. He has later emerged to a crowd of flag-waving supporters outside the airport.
At a separate briefing, Ukrainian investigators have said they had tried to serve a subpoena to Poroshenko, who refused to take the documents.
Prosecutors have accused Poroshenko of treason for allegedly using illegal coal sales to finance Russian-backed separatists from 2014-15. If convicted, he could face 15 years in prison.
He was in court Monday for a hearing that ran nearly 12 hours, with the court deferring until Wednesday the decision whether to grant Poroshenko bail or order his arrest. Prosecutors have requested bail be set at $35 million.
Poroshenko’s return comes as Ukraine faces a tense standoff with neighboring Russia. Tens of thousands of Russian troops have amassed near the border with Ukraine, prompting the United States to express concern that Russian President Vladimir Putin might be planning an invasion. Poroshenko came to power in 2014 after street protests ousted then-President Viktor Yanukovych. He is credited with strengthening Ukraine’s army after Russia annexed Crimea and backed separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine. Poroshenko, however, lost elections in 2019 following a corruption scandal and charges that he had not done enough to implement political reforms.
Poroshenko owns a confectionery empire and is often called Ukraine’s “chocolate king.” Forbes magazine estimates his fortune at $1.6 billion.
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