11 Promises Poroshenko Made in His First Year as Ukraine’s President

This article originally appeared at Red Pill Times


Presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 25 May 2014, resulting in Petro Poroshenko being elected President of Ukraine. Originally scheduled to take place on 29 March 2015, the date was changed following the US coup. Poroshenko won the elections with 54.7% of the votes.

The real President of Ukraine? It’s debatable. He did after all come into power after an illegal coup staged by the US and EU, and won elections which excluded a good portion of East Ukraine and Crimea.

Does he call the shots? It’s debatable. Certainly the CIA, with its offices in downtown Kiev, has a say it what’s going on. Rumor has it that US Ambassador Pyatt is the real acting President of Ukraine, while Victoria Nuland is the de facto Queen of the land. With a cabinet of foreigners like Natalie Jaresko, Poroshenko may not really have much of a say in the big picture of all things Ukraine.

Will he last another year in office? Very debatable. At civil war, totally broke, and infested with militant, neo-nazi forces throughout the government and military structure, Ukraine is a failed state. Poroshenko is hanging on by a very thin thread. Washington holds the scissors that may very well clip that thread.

One thing that is not debatable…Poroshenko’s promises. Poroshenko sure made a lot promises over his one year in office…promises that rarely came to being.

Let’s take a look back at what Petro Poroshenko promised the Ukrainian people and the international community in his 365 days in office.

Promise number 1:
May 26, 2014, Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko pledges ‘end to war‘” .

“My first decisive step will be aimed at ending the war, ending chaos, and bringing peace to a united and free Ukraine. I am certain that our decisive actions will bring fairly quick results.”

“For those people who don’t take (up) weapons, we are always ready for negotiations to guarantee them security, to guarantee their rights, including speaking the language they want.”

He also promised a dialogue with people in eastern Ukraine if he is elected.

Mr Poroshenko said he would also like to negotiate a new security treaty with Moscow.

Although he strongly backs closer ties with the EU, Mr Poroshenko also stresses the need to normalise ties with Russia.

Promise number 2:
May 26, 2014, Poroshenko promises calm ‘in hours’ amid battle to control Donetsk airport

Ukraine’s president-elect, Petro Poroshenko, promised to end the armed insurgency in the east of the country in “hours”, as Kiev’s forces launched air strikes on separatists during an intense battle to regain control of Donetsk airport which left many injured.

“Their goal is to turn Donbass into a Somalia where they would rule with the power of machine guns. I will never allow that to happen on the territory of Ukraine,” he said.

He suggested that he would move quickly and decisively against the rebels: “The anti-terrorist operation cannot and should not last two or three months. It should and will last hours.”

Promise number 3:
June 7, 2014, Poroshenko promises elections, Russian language, jobs in Donbas

“Today we need a legitimate partner for dialogue. We will not negotiate with bandits. And we are ready to declare early local elections in Donbas to form partners for dialogue,” the president said.

Poroshenko also announced his intention to pay a visit to Donbas soon for dialogue with its citizens.

“As president, I’ll come to you soon. With peace. With the project of decentralization of power. With the guarantee of free use in your region of the Russian language. With the firm intention not to divide Ukrainians into “right” and “not right”. With a respectful attitude to the specifics of the region, with the right of local communities to their nuances in matters of historical memory, the pantheon of heroes and religious traditions. With the elaborated before the elections joint project with our partners from the European Union to create jobs in the east of Ukraine. With the prospect of investment. With the draft program for the economic reconstruction of Donbas,” he said.

Promise number 4:
September 22, 2014, Poroshenko promises funding of Donbas territories under Ukrainian flag

“The Ukrainian budget will finance the territories which return under the Ukrainian flag. If there is a flag there is a special fund too… The financing mechanism will be simple: a special budget fund will be formed and this is a purpose of my visit – to prepare a donor conference for the special fund project, which, in particular, will include money from a special fund of the Ukrainian budget for the restoration of Donbas infrastructure,” the president said in an interview with Ukrainian television channels aired on Sunday night.

Poroshenko said he was talking tens of billions of hryvnias.

“Ukraine will finance the territories where there is peace and there are Ukrainian authorities, including local self-government bodies elected in a legitimate manner,” the president said.

Promise number 5:
November 16, 2014, “Poroshenko Promises Terror for East Ukraine

“We (Ukraine) will have our jobs – they (Donbas) will not. We will have our pensions – they will not. We will have care for children, for people and retirees – they will not. Our children will go to schools and kindergartens… theirs will hole up in the basements. Because they are not able to do a thing. This is exactly how we will win this war!”

Promise number 6:
February 23, 2015. Poroshenko Promises to Return Crimea

“Those who are now ‘nationalizing’ property of Ukrainian citizens, enterprises, institutions, and authorities, those who by illegal means are extracting minerals from beneath Ukrainian soil, who in defiance of national and international law use other resources of Ukraine in Crimea, should know that they will have to return everything that was illegally obtained and take responsibility for their actions,” Poroshenko said.

Poroshenko called the “referendum,” which was held in March of last year, “a farce designed to cover the open aggression of Russia against Ukraine” and attested that Ukraine will never recognize it “even more so because most of the people in Crimea, especially Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians, have expressed an active boycott of this political show, retaining their loyalty to Ukraine.”

Promise number 7:
April 6, 2015. Ukrainian president says he’s open to referendum on regional powers

The Ukrainian president said he doesn’t object to a referendum on the decentralization of Ukraine, which could give greater powers to the Donbass region.

“I’m ready to launch a referendum on the issue of state governance if you decide it is necessary,” he told the parliamentary commission, which is working on relevant amendments to the Ukrainian constitution.

Poroshenko stressed he is still opposed to federalization for Donetsk and Lugansk, but favors decentralization of power.

Promise number 8:
April 8, 2015, Poroshenko hopes for visa-free travel with EU from 2016

The Ukrainian authorities are hoping that after the Eastern Partnership summit in Riga the European Union will recognize Kyiv’s prospects for European integration and will agree to cancel visa requirements from January 1, 2016, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko said.

Promise number 9:
April 27, 2015, Ukraine will be able to apply for EU membership in 5 years — Poroshenko

“We are ambitious in our plans and actions, and that is why we state that in five years we must implement the Association Agreement [with EU] and reach such conditions that are necessary for applying for EU membership,” Poroshenko said.

The Ukrainian president also asked the summit’s participants to acknowledge that Ukraine may become a full-fledged member of EU. “EU membership is a strategic benchmark for our changes. We ask EU to recognize that Ukraine may become an EU member if it meets all necessary criteria,” he said.

Promise number 10:
May 12, 2015, “The Kremlin commented on Poroshenko’s promise to recapture the Donetsk airport

“I do not doubt that we will liberate the airport, because it is on our land. And we will reconstruct the airport. We will place the remnants of the carcass and concrete in a glass box and will write on it “Glory to the cyborgs!” in order for the memory of your heroic deed to live in generations of the Ukrainians, so that new generations of defenders of Ukraine were brought up through the example of your heroic deed”, Poroshenko said at the road show of “The Airport” documentary.

Promise number 11:
May 20, 2015, “Poroshenko Promises Poland to Change Law on Nazi Collaborators

During a telephone conversation with his Polish counterpart Bronislaw Komorowski, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he will make amendments to the law on “the legal status and commemoration of Ukrainian freedom fighters of the 20th century,” the Polish Press Agency reported, citing Yaromir Sokolowski, advisor for the Polish president.

On May 9 the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a law on the glorification of the notorious Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and gave social benefits to its fighters. In particular, militants of the UPA and Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) were hailed as freedom fighters in Ukraine.

Leave a comment