Former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said that border guards did not let him leave for a business trip to Poland and the United States.
"Again, a theater of the absurd at the border. I have a business trip signed by the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, but the border guards did not let me through. I am far from thinking that the border guards acted on their own initiative. Everyone can guess who canceled the document signed by the parliamentary spokesman," he wrote on Facebook.
Poroshenko said that he had "dozens of meetings" scheduled in Poland and the United States. "With the Poles, I had to talk about lifting the blockade of our carriers at the border. With the Americans – about securing funding for military aid, which has almost dried up this year and is under threat in the future," the former president said.
Border Guard Service spokesman Andriy Demchenko said that Poroshenko was not allowed to travel abroad because the Verkhovna Rada canceled his business trip.
"During the period of martial law, MPs of Ukraine have the right to cross the state border to leave on the basis of relevant decisions on business trips. As for the MP you are interested in, the border guards have confirmation that his business trip abroad has been canceled," he said.
According to Ukrayinska Pravda, Poroshenko's European Solidarity colleague Iryna Gerashchenko is outraged that Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk's order to send Poroshenko abroad was canceled by his first deputy Oleksandr Kornienko.
The publication recalls that last year Poroshenko was no longer allowed to travel abroad. In May 2022, the former president crossed the border of Ukraine with Poland only on his third attempt.