Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s five-year term in office officially ended almost one year ago, raising questions about his political legitimacy.
Kyiv has imposed sanctions on Petro Poroshenko, an opposition politician and former president, for reasons of “national security,” according to Ukraine’s SBU spy agency.
The move follows calls by Washington for Ukraine to hold presidential elections—in which Poroshenko could be a contender—after an almost six-year hiatus.
In a video statement, Poroshenko, who served as Ukraine’s president from 2014 to 2019, decried the move as “unconstitutional” and “politically motivated.”
Sanctions imposed on Poroshenko reportedly include an asset freeze and a ban on withdrawing funds from the country.
A confectionary magnate and one of Ukraine’s wealthiest people, Poroshenko, 59, leads a sizeable opposition bloc in Ukraine’s parliament.
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