“You personally have an obligation to end the bloodshed and reach a peace agreement at any cost,” wrote the pro-Moscow politician in a message released by Russia’s Ria Novosti state agency on Tuesday. “That’s what Ukraine, Donbass and Russia expect from you.”
Kiev’s partners in the west would also welcome such a step. Yanukovych, considered highly corrupt, was overthrown by masses of pro-Western protesters in 2014. The 71-year-old has been living in Russia ever since. In his homeland he was sentenced in absentia to 13 years in prison for treason. Ukrainian media recently reported that the Kremlin wants to reinstate Yanukovych as president.
Zelenskyy only won the 2019 presidential election because he promised to end the conflict in his country, the ex-president wrote. “You could have been the President of Peace, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. You probably dream of becoming a real hero! But heroism can’t be faked, it’s not about fighting to the last Ukrainian. It’s in self-sacrifice , defeating his own pride and ambition to save lives.”
Source: Nachrichten
