Poroshenko supporters block Rada rostrum after sanctions imposed

Deputies who support former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko have blocked the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada. This is reported by Strana.ua.

They came out in protest after sanctions were imposed against Poroshenko.

Their posters read: "Ukraine is not Russia", "No to political repression", "No to dictatorship" and others. The protesting deputies chanted: "Shame".

After this, the Rada session was closed.

The decision to impose sanctions was made by the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) the day before, on February 12. This was reported by Forbes Ukraine sources, one of whom was present at the NSDC meeting where the decision was made. One of the magazine's sources suggested that the article "High Treason" could be discussed in the future. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the NSDC decision would be published later and did not disclose its essence.

Poroshenko himself called the decision a provocation. "But I believed until the very end that common sense would prevail," he said. According to Poroshenko, the decision was made on Zelensky's initiative. "He (Zelensky) is looking for someone to shift responsibility for his tragic mistakes to," Poroshenko said.