Petro Poroshenko gave an interview to the German Bild. He calls for unity and calls Zelensky a poor leader who must stop killing people. We retell the main points

Former President and MP of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko gave a short interview to the German newspaper Bild. A month ago, Ukraine imposed total sanctions on him indefinitely — assets were frozen and trade transactions were restricted. In the interview with Bild, Poroshenko said that the authorities are bringing Ukraine closer to dictatorship, and that the US President Donald Trump does not really trust Putin. We will tell you key points.

We will not allow a dictatorship to be established in Ukraine.

[Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky] is a poor leader of a team that is moving the nation towards dictatorship. But Ukraine is not Russia. It is absolutely unacceptable when the country is being pushed to the limits of democracy and freedom, when local self-government is being attacked, when the leader of the opposition is being illegally and unconstitutionally attacked. This must be stopped immediately. Not because it is about me, but because we need to maintain unity. And unity is a decisive, very strong factor in stopping [Russian leader Vladimir] Putin.

Sanctions against me are an “attack on freedom and democracy”.

I am the only political leader, the only opposition leader, against whom sanctions have been imposed without explanation. What is happening here is unconstitutional, illegal, there is no court decision. This is simply a very stupid and criminal violation of the law. Zelensky is afraid of the current political situation, which is why he wants to get rid of all competitors.

The chances of a ceasefire are only in the next two to three months.

It will either happen or it won’t. I am absolutely sure that [the US President Donald] Trump does not trust Putin. It is simply his negotiating style. If Putin sets preconditions, then I expect from Trump a plan B — more weapons for Ukraine, more sanctions against Russia, restoration of transatlantic unity and financial support, and also the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO.

We must forget the phrase “offensive operation”.

Stop it, stop killing people. My message is the following: we must immediately stop losing people and immediately stop losing territory. We must immediately stop wasting time. We have enough people. We do not have enough people to assault the front line. We must build fortifications, try to stop the Russian troops. The use of fortifications, minefields and the most modern air defenses against guided bombs. All these measures can stop Russia and make it pay a higher price.