Petro Poroshenko's close contacts with Vladimir Putin, the audio of which was published in the media, provoked Russia to a full-scale invasion and caused distrust among Western partners. Political expert Valentyn Hladkykh writes about this, UNN reports.
According to him, exactly nine years ago, on April 30, 2015, the two presidents had a conversation during which Poroshenko said, "I shake hands! I hug you!" addressed to Putin. Political expert Valentyn Hladkykh calls the consequences of these conversations tragic for Ukraine.
"These recordings show the 'hetman's' position on Russia: the blasphemy of a vassal trying to curry favor for money. In particular, this is why our Western partners were so cautious about our cooperation, and after the publication of these conversations, they turned away for a while because they realized that Petro Oleksiyovych perceived Putin not even as a senior business partner, but actually as a suzerain. And he openly let him know about it. That is why Putin considered Ukraine an easy prey, eventually resorting to a full-scale invasion," emphasizes Gladkykh.
The political expert also notes the cooperation between Putin and Poroshenko, which continued during the latter's presidential term.
"Petro Oleksiyovych, what did you say to Putin? "Happy Workers' Solidarity Day! We, you and I, Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich, are working people, maybe we will join the solidarity..." And did you come? Poroshenko personally may have come: he kissed, hugged, shook hands with the Kremlin Fuhrer, traded coal with L/DPR terrorists, appropriated an oil pipe together with Putin's godfather Medveduchko, who was also delegated to represent Ukraine's interests in Minsk," Valentyn Gladkykh writes.
As you know, in July 2020, conversations allegedly between Russian President Vladimir Putin and then-President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko were published online. The conversation is dated April 30, 2015 - two months after the fierce fighting in Debaltseve and the deaths of Ukrainian soldiers at the hands of Russian aggressors.