Petro Poroshenko is the new President of Ukraine. According to the latest exit polls, the oligarch nicknamed “ candy tycoon” thanks to the fortune he earned with cocoa seeds, would be the winner of the elections with 55.9 percent of votes. The Ukrainian ‘passion aria’ Yulia Tymoshenko did not get more than 12.9 percent. Third place for the radical independent Oleg Liasho with 8 percent of votes.
Poroshenko, who has already declared himself as the winner, announced he wants to proceed with the integration process into the European Union, as the majority of Ukrainians asked with the vote, “The priority now is stopping war and chaos and re-establishing peace: my country has chosen Europe.” The former Foreign and Economic Development Minister guaranteed that the referenda held in Crimea and East Ukraine are not to be recognised.
Barack Obama, President of the United States, sent a message “Ukrainian Presidential elections are another important step in the government efforts towards territorial intergrity. Despite provocations and violence, millions of Ukrainians went to the polls.”
Yet the situation in the country is still gloomy. The new President said his first move will be travelling to Donbass, where the the clashes beteeen pro-Russian separatists and Kiev troops have never stopped. The East of Ukraine has spent the vote under the flag of violence: several polls were closed and the most difficult situation wes experienced in Donetsk, the heart of the separatist movements. Several militias has destroyed the polls in front of the building of the regional administration. In the village of Artemivka armed men assaulted a poll and set it on fire.
The Italian Foreing Ministry confirmed that the Italian photo reporter Andrea Rocchelli was killed together with his interpreter, Andry Mironov, in the Donetsk region. According to pro-Russian troops, they would have been shot by the Ukrainian army.
