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President's re-election pitch resonates in heartland of Ukraine's revolution

Reuters By Natalia Zinets,Reuters 7 hours ago

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* Poroshenko trails second in polls before March 31 vote

* Leads in western Ukraine despite deaths in conflict

* Region may enable him to win second round victory

https://www.yahoo.com/news/presidents-election-pitch-resonates-heartland-070022019.html

By Natalia Zinets

LVIV, Ukraine, March 21 (Reuters) - At a cemetery in western Ukraine, a tall, grey-haired man lights candles and kisses the gravestone of his 35-year-old brother Taras, whose death, he said, changed his mind about who should win this month's presidential election.

Taras, a medical volunteer, was killed in 2015 rescuing wounded soldiers near Debaltseve during the government's five-year-old conflict in eastern Ukraine against Kremlin-backed rebels, his brother Ihor Konchevych said.

He died for a free and independent Ukraine, something their grandfathers could only dream of in the Soviet era, he said, and President Petro Poroshenko is the best candidate to keep it on that path, even though he has not ended the war as he promised.

"In 2014, I did not vote for him," said Ihor, a dermatologist whose teenage nephew and niece are now fatherless. "Now (I will) for one reason: he is pro-Ukraine, Russia does not support him."

Such support could help Poroshenko, who has consistently trailed in opinion polls, scrape into the second round and potentially win a second term.

It suggests that at least in western Ukraine, where Poroshenko's polling remains relatively robust, his opposition to Russia and championing of the army, the church and closer ties with Europe and the United States is getting through.

It also suggests some people are willing to swallow whatever disappointment they might feel about his failure to end the war, lift living standards or thoroughly tackle corruption, because they see him as better than the alternatives.

At stake in the election is the leadership of a country on the front line of the West's confrontation with Russia, five years after the Maidan street protests ousted Poroshenko's Russia-friendly predecessor Viktor Yanukovich and the Russian annexation of Crimea.

It is a country still fighting a conflict in the eastern Donbass region that has killed 13,000 people despite a notional ceasefire, a shrunken state propped up by Western aid and sanctions against Moscow.

The election has boiled down to a three-horse race between the confectionary magnate Poroshenko, comic actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, with Poroshenko second and Zelenskiy extending his lead thanks to his fresh face and strong anti-corruption message.

HEARTLAND OF MAIDAN

It is perhaps not surprising that Poroshenko's pro-Western messages resonate in Lviv, a picturesque city of cobblestone streets and central European charm that was under the Austrian empire until the First World War and is geographically closer to European Union countries than to Kiev.

The region was a driving force behind successive revolutions, including the 2014 protests in Maidan: according to Reuters' calculations, around 50 of the more than 100 protesters killed during the Maidan protests were from the west, 19 of them from the Lviv region alone.

The city is heavily Ukrainian-speaking compared to the Russian-speaking eastern regions. A survey by pollster SOCIS suggests voters in the west care more about the war and less about, for example, rising utility tariffs than the average Ukrainian.

The brother of Lesya Senyk, a 51-year-old kindergarten director, was one of those killed on Maidan, a protest sparked by Yanukovich's decision to renege on signing a political and trade agreement with the EU after pressure from Moscow.

Her brother's sacrifice, she said, means Ukraine has become a proper state with a stronger army and aspirations to join the European Union.

Senyk did not vote for Poroshenko in 2014 but she will now. "I do not know who else could have saved the state in those difficult times, after the Maidan and during the war," she said. "Maybe he's not perfect. But we are not saints."

NO COUNTRY FOR CLOWNS

Poroshenko won an emphatic victory in the 2014 election but his popularity has fallen sharply.

He can boast success: he secured visa-free travel for Ukrainians to the EU. There have been reforms and the government has stayed in an International Monetary Fund bailout program: a reassurance to investors.

Poroshenko successfully lobbied for Ukraine to establish a national Orthodox church, independent from Russia. While he did not win the war, he did not lose it, and ramped up defense spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product from 3 percent under Yanukovich. A Poroshenko win is the worst-case scenario for Russia, which is a plus in some voters' eyes.

But he has been forced to apologize for his pledge to win the war within weeks, and that is not enough for some.

The parents of 22-year-old Yuriy Holub, who was killed in eastern Ukraine in 2014, will not vote for him.

"He promised, promised," said Holub's father Hryhoriy, who is blind. "Why did you promise if you were not confident that you can fulfill your promise? If he were an honest man he would quit of his own accord."

His wife Hanna, who holds pictures of her son close to her face due to her own failing sight, also said Poroshenko had let them down. "First he said everything would be over in two weeks ... But such heavy shelling happened and our child was killed," she said in a trembling voice. "There is no trust now."

Their son is buried in Lviv's 18th century Lychakiv cemetery, along with about 70 others killed in the east.

Nazar Paselsky lies buried in a grave near Holub. Paselsky was killed by shelling, aged 21, in the Luhansk region in August 2014. His mother Hanna and father Mykola adopted a boy after Nazar's death. Photos of Nazar, his diploma and his bravery award are on display on top of their cabinet.

Hanna voted for Poroshenko last time "because he promised that everything will be over in three days. I wanted my child to come back home alive." Now she does not trust any candidate to guarantee a future for her adopted one-year-old, but thinks she might end up voting for Poroshenko in the second round.

Twelve years younger than Poroshenko, Zelenskiy has tapped into disillusionment about Ukraine's progress since Maidan and the desire for new faces in politics.

But some people, like Hryhoriy Zhalovaga, whose son Anatoliy died on Maidan, said a strong army was what was needed, not an entertainer with no political experience. Quoting another student during a commemoration ceremony for Maidan victims at the school his son attended, he said: "Those who will vote for Zelenskiy, what do they want, a country of clowns?"

Lviv-based analyst Oleg Gryniv said such views mean Poroshenko will probably carry a majority in the western areas like Galicia, which contains Lviv, citing the example of Ukraine's first post-Soviet President Leonid Kravchuk.

"When he traveled through the eastern regions, they asked him about the price of socks, whether gas prices would be lowered," he said. "And when he arrived in Galicia, there was only one question - whether the state would be kept intact."

(Additional reporting Sergiy Karazy; writing by Matthias Williams; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

https://www.yahoo.com/news/presidents-election-pitch-resonates-heartland-070022019.html

Top Reactions

1 person reacting

Vyacheslav37 minutes ago

Acticles like these are designed to legitimize the results of what will be a tainted election. Just as the fake polling, paid for by Poroshenko. He was polling in a low single digits in December/January. Has the life of average Ukrainian improved? No, but his polling numbers have. The only way he can win is if he cheats and steals the election. It will be a disaster for Ukraine.
"At stake in the election is the leadership of a country on the front line of the West's confrontation with Russia"
This one sentence sums it all up. Why is Ukraine confronting Russia on West's behalf?
Why are two brotherly nations fighting at all? Ukraine is not independent. It is being used. Everything Poroshenko is proposing is not pro Ukraine, it is anti Russia. It is designed to destroyedThe fact that the country is being destroyed in the process, that people are dying does not concern anyone in US, and it doesn't appear to concern the author of this article. As long as Natalia is being paid, as long as Poroshenko and people around him can keep stealing. Its all good.

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RogerCa54 minutes ago

Poroshenko is a fascist. This Yahoo article is pure propaganda. Of the 13,000 killed in the war with rebels, almost all live in the rebel held Donbass region. They were killed by artillery fire by Poroshenko's army that shelled cities and civilian areas. The rebels have never shelled or attempted to kill people in Ukraine. They have fought a purely defensive battle. Poroshenko owns all the media in Ukraine. While 40% of the population speak Ukrainian, mostly in central and west Ukraine, another 40% speak Russian (mainly southern and eastern Ukraine). However, under Poroshenko, there is no longer any TV programming for Russian speaking people -- all TV programs where Russian is spoken have been banned. That's fascism at work. Moreover, Russian speaking people are no longer allowed to speak Russian in any government building or court proceeding, thus they can't represent themselves and are being discriminated against. Many people in cities such as Odessa and eastern areas, have relatives in Russia and don't feel hatred for Russia. People who live in west Ukraine, led by Stepan Bandera, participated with Hitler in putting Jews in concentration camps and murdering them because he hated Russia and was willing to support Hitler out of this hatred. When Poroshenko made Stepan Bandera a hero of Ukraine, the people in Crimea who almost all are Russian, wanted out of Ukraine and they seceded of their own volition. They were not invaded by Russia -- that's just another lie put out by our fake media and our neo-cons. People, you need to do some research on your own and try to get educated because the propaganda coming out of our left wing media is overwhelming, and nothing but lies.

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Herry23 minutes ago

Funny how after the Ukrobronprom scandal came out pointing that Ukrainian presidents friends had their hands in it and probably he got a cut as well from selling smuggled Russian military hardware to Ukrainian army at a premium as it was "Made" in Ukraine, his support is going up. Also I heard some one is paying 20 US for a vote, so no wonder, he is pulling ahead of Yulia and that now, again her gas deals are coming up in the spot light, but the Panama papers are all forgotten, but then he is the only candidate that has factories in Russia and his own TV station and the ear of the West.

Joseph1 hour ago

How Fake can news get? This has to be close to the top. If you have other fake news that is share worthy please answer with links, I like a good laugh over coffee in the morning, thanks in advance

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bizking6 hours ago

Of all the candidates, Poroshenko is the one who will most likely stay on the path of Euro-integration.

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Mike1 hour ago

We installed our guy Guiado in Venezuela. Gues Moscow can then install their in Ukraine. At least it borders Russia.

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Michael39 minutes ago

The Western Ukraine has been a hotbed of fascism since WW II. They were better #$%$ than the #$%$ and relished exterminating Jews, Russians, and their fellow Ukrainians who didn't agree with their agenda. They were used as the shock troops during the Western instigated and backed Maidan regime change. I recall my dad who was a U.S. Army Sergeant during WW II say that the Western Ukrainians who used to come into his bar NYC hated everyone - including themselves! Ask the Poles what they think of the Western Ukrainians and what they did in Galicia and Volhynia.

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Peter3 hours ago

Championing of the army by who? By Poroshenko? LOL He is making profit on corrupt army supply schemes. He is involved in recent scandal about supplying the military with triple overpriced spare parts from RUSSIA. :) Why Natalia didn't mention that? Why she didn't mention his offshore accounts which he uses to not pay taxes in Ukraine? Why she didn't mention that his involvement in Church affairs is a breach of Ukrainian constitution? Instead entire article is an ode of joy about this corrupt politician. Seriously, hadn't expected such a biased propaganda from Reuters.

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Mark1 hour ago

Ukraine will be integrated with the European Union and Russians will be totally defeated in the Geo-political sense. Poland will provide the route to the Ukrainian integration. Poland is already a bilingual country (Ukrainian and Polish), with Ukrainian/Polish signs in place of business, Ukrainian language ATMs and so on. Record numbers of Ukrainians are taking a Polish citizenship and they have jobs in Poland so they can support remaining family members back in Ukraine. Under Russian dominance, Ukraine was a very isolated society and Ukrainian people were not allowed to travel, certainly not to European countries. It was in Russian interest to keep Ukrainian isolated and ignorant, to prevent them from seeing the world.

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C.1 hour ago

There needs to be an international tribunal that hands out severe sanctions for Russian meddling in foreign affairs and for Russian interference in other countries’ elections.

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Alex3 hours ago

Poroshenk’s approval rating 10%. The poll for presidency gives him 15%. department of state’s dream of having this puppet for the second term is an illusion.

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Lester1 hour ago

Hey Reuters and Ms. Zinets: This isn't a news story. It's bald-faced Poroshenko campaign propaganda. Are you kidding?

putinsky43 minutes ago

reading these posts seems like putin is the only viable leader, he knows how to win elections ........the point is who is soros supporting .....

Alexandru58 minutes ago

Countries always end with the leaders they deserve.

Paul1 hour ago

Ukraine is simply too corrupt to be of interest to Trump.

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George W5 minutes ago

Poroshitenko is scam beg on USA payroll responsible for lost of Ukraine territory and death of innocent people who did not want democracy riding on USA rifles and tanks.

art1 hour ago

Failure yo end war???? Who's fault it is??? Win or loose against country at least 3 time bigger.

lou20 minutes ago

It’s not easy to be neighbor of Russia, but Ukraine, Russia is not your enemy. You have to elect somebody who can work with Putin. If you don’t, future is gloomy.

John59 minutes ago

LMAO! Alcoholic corrupt Natzi thief called Poroshenko campaign?

lou17 minutes ago

I can bet that poroshenko didn’t send his son or daughter to fight in the east. Ukraine can have EU and Russia as friends at the same time. They shouldn’t get Vlad mad. Just look at what happens to people or countries who get Vlad mad.

Stay Calm And Blame Russia6 hours ago

Poroshenko is a corrupt and hated politician for a reason. The war was started by the USA with a coup d'etat. This UkroTroll write Natalia Zinets, is a shill for the west.

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