In an extended interview for ‘Pryamyi’ TV channel, Petro Poroshenko called out the Ukrainian president over his allegations against former Ukrainian intelligence seniors.
During his press conference on Friday, Volodymyr Zelensky slammed former military intelligence chief Vasyl Burba calling him an ‘adventurer’ whose plot to capture Russian mercenaries could have provoked a wide diplomatic rift with Turkey.
Ukrainian intelligence officers ‘are losing motivation’ having to deal with undue criticism and accusations, said Petro Poroshenko, adding ‘it is not only happening with Wagner mercenaries’ story’.
‘Look at the operation that aimed to release of Ukrainian captives at Donetsk plant ‘Izolyatsiya’. The very same ‘mole’ leaked the information. And then came the SBU directive to attack intelligence agents on the Ukrainian territory to hamper the operations, which eventually happened’.
The former Ukrainian president was also irked by Zelensky’s claims he was responsible for ‘loss of Donbas’.
After dodging the army draft four times, Zelensky is hardly in a position to throw around accusations, argued the former president.
Poroshenko reminded he personally had gone to Luhansk and Izvarino amid reports of separatists gathering forces there while Zelensky at the time ‘acted in his tasteless corporate performances for separatists’ in Gorlivka, ‘making jokes about seized Ukrainian tanks’.
‘European Solidarity’ leader admitted he and his team should ‘apologize before families of fallen Ukrainian heroes’ for ‘mistakes and miscalculations’ made back in challenging times of his presidency.
Yet he reminded that ‘two thirds’ of Donbas were freed from occupation by 2019.
Poroshenko stressed Zelensky claims no right to raise any questions after he ‘signed so-called agreement on disengagement of forces’ that saw Ukraine losing its territory yet again.
Ukraine needs a concerted effort to stand up to Moscow, said Petro Poroshenko, adding that he is ‘ready to contribute all his experience and all his connections’ to make Putin pay a higher price for his aggressive policies.
With military aid coming from the West – and it doesn’t have to be soldiers deployed here-, Ukraine will be able to upgrade its military potential to fend off Russia’s offensives.
‘From cutting edge Patriot missiles systems to lethal defensive weapons, which are needed for the Ukrainian Armed forces. We can dramatically have our military aid widened and it will be not [only coming] from the US, Great Britain, France and other NATO countries’.