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Important step during war: Zelenskyy meets his 2019 election opponent Poroshenko face-to-face for first time in years

The shift follows Kyrylo Budanov’s January appointment to head the President’s Office.

BY OLENA MUKHINA

27/05/2026

Poroshenko speaks to his supporters after returning to Ukraine

Former President Petro Poroshenko speaks to his supporters near the airport. Source: Ukrainska Pravda

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a series of separate meetings this week with leaders of parliament factions and groups. The first time in years that he engaged faction leaders individually outside the pressure of a specific vote, European Solidarity leader Petro Poroshenko wroteon Facebook. The meetings were initiated at the request of faction leaders at the Rada’s conciliation council.

Poroshenko, Ukraine’s fifth president from 2014 to 2019, was Zelenskyy’s main opponent in the 2019 presidential election, which Zelenskyy won in a landslide. In February 2025, Zelenskyy signed a decree imposing personal sanctions on Poroshenko alongside billionaire Ihor Kolomoisky and three others. The move drew sharp criticism from Ukrainian journalists, activists, and politicians.

Poroshenko: “Finally, face-to-face for first time in many years”

“Finally, for the first time in many years, our meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took place face-to-face,” Poroshenko wrote.

He said the parties agreed that such meetings would happen regularly and that dialogue would become permanent.

“In conditions when Ukraine is waging a war for survival, dialogue with parliament and restoration of its subjectivity is important. Too many challenges that can only be overcome together,” he added.

Sources cite three drivers: arithmetic, style, external pressure

Three factors drove the shift, sources in the President’s Office and opposition told Liga.net. The parliamentary arithmetic comes first: Servant of the People’s mono-majority has eroded, and important legislation, from IMF conditionality to defense decisions, now needs votes beyond the ruling caucus.

Second, the communication climate from Bankova has noticeably softened since Budanov replaced Yermak.

Third: external pressure from IMF and EU conditions tied to funding, and security challenges sharpening before winter.

From Yermak’s centralization to Budanov-era parliamentary contact

Yermak resigned on 28 November 2025 after Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau searched his apartment as part of Operation Midas, the embezzlement investigation centered on energy giant Energoatom.

On 11 May, anti-corruption agencies served him a suspicion notice for an alleged $10 million money-laundering scheme tied to elite Kyiv-area real estate development.

Under Yermak, the President’s Office centralized decision-making to a degree that became a recurring complaint from faction leaders across the political spectrum, including from within Servant of the People itself. Whether this week’s meetings translate into a sustained pattern or perform as one will be visible in what gets passed and how.

All articles Important step during war: Zelenskyy meets his 2019 election opponent Poroshenko face-to-face for first time in years

https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/05/27/important-step-during-war-zelenskyy-meets-his-2019-election-opponent-poroshenko-face-to-face-for-first-time-in-years/?fbclid=IwZnRzaASExFBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEed9wIbb-mutIJgGAAM9KX8blKLp-zx2L8sJdXfRskq7TJrDMmQZTKgNkDvO4_aem_lIpwzUTV8H-EpPt-0KqQxg

6 comments

  1. When an election does eventually take place, the outcome is far from clear.
    If Zel stands, he will do well. But Ukrainians have no nostalgia for past leaders. That’s why Tymo and Poro will not make a comeback.
    As for Zaluzhnyi, he has not given any information as to what his ideology is. He won’t be in any mood to give land to vermin though.
    IMHO Ukraine’s greatest General is Dmytro Marchenko. Without his brilliance, the war would have gone terribly.
    Kherson fell immediately, due to treacherous bastards. But Gen. Marchenko stopped the rot at Mykolaiv: twice and once again in his nearby home town of Voskresenske.
    He kicked out orc vermin from Mykolaiv airport and eventually almost cleared the whole oblast.
    If Mykolaiv had fallen, the filth would have moved on to cut off Odesa …..
    Back to the election : I’d be keeping an eye on Kira Rudik.

    Reply

      • You could be right Mike.
        But we just don’t know what his positions will be.
        He’s not charismatic, he’s very cautious, but that might work, who knows?
        But for hardcore military brilliance, I’d go with Marchenko.
        I’m sure a movie will be made about his fantastic achievements someday.

        Reply

  2. “In conditions when Ukraine is waging a war for survival, dialogue with parliament and restoration of its subjectivity is important. Too many challenges that can only be overcome together,” he added.”

    Exactly right.
    Unity is absolutely essential when the nation faces genocide from nazi fiends.

    Reply

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