Zelensky's comments on ‘LPR and DPR insurgents’ outrage Poroshenko
After the debate with the presidential candidate Zelensky that was held before the second round of the elections, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko condemned his opponent for the “terribly” chosen descriptor for the opponents of the Ukrainian armed forces conducting operations in the Donbass.
According to Poroshenko, his opponent “called the Russian mercenaries and the regular forces of the Russian Federation “LPR insurgents” and “DPR insurgents” during the debate,” writes Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian President , “as the president, commander in chief, presidential candidate and citizen, I am outraged. Poroshenko explained that the use of the word “insurgents” implies that a civil war is going on in Ukraine.
In actuality, according to the Ukrainian President, “we are dealing with Russian aggression” so what the country needs is “a strong commander in chief, a pro-Ukrainian president” able to defend it. Russia denies the participation of its personnel soldiers in the Donetsk and Luhansk combat zone and calls what is happening there an “internal Ukrainian conflict”.
Poroshenko made the statement live on “Public television” after coming to the studio following the debate. The president wanted Zelensky to continue conversing with him in the format of TV debates, but the candidate from the party Servant of the People did not heed his rival’s call. During the broadcast, the moderator of the discussion announced that there was a threat of a terrorist attack. Allegedly, a call was received about a suspicious person in the building. This information was investigated by the Ukrainian National Police which stated that there had been no calls from “telephone terrorists”.
Nonetheless, Poroshenko left the TV debate earlier than planned, citing an upcoming telephone conversation with Head of the US State Department Michael Pompeo. Duding the conversation, the secretary of state wished Poroshenko success in the second round of the presidential election. The parties also discussed the threat of Privatbank’s privatization.