European Solidarity party: Ukrainian authorities target ex-official with search amid political unrest

Ukraine’s European Solidarity political party has announced that the State Bureau of Investigation searched the house of Yuriy Fedoriv, the former head of the Presidential Security Service. 

Fedoriv served as the head of the Security Service during Ukrainian ex-President Petro Poroshenko's term of office, Caliber.Az reports per Russian media.

The European Solidarity party, which is led by Poroshenko, announced that the State Bureau of Investigation unexpectedly searched the houses of Fedoriv, his former deputy, and others, without the required court-sanctioned warrant. 

The searches are believed to be part of an ongoing effort by Ukrainian authorities to pressure Fedoriv and his former colleagues for any potential testimony that could be used against Poroshenko. 

The party further speculated that this move is intended to clear the political field ahead of a ceasefire and potential elections. European Solidarity party condemned the searches, calling them a continuation of political persecution against the opposition party leader. The party claims this follows a pattern of actions, including attempts to block Poroshenko's parliamentary work by removing him from Rada (parliament) sessions, preventing him from participating in international affairs, and imposing personal sanctions on him using the National Security and Defense Council. 

On February 12, Petro Poroshenko announced that Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council had imposed sanctions against him. He also revealed that he had been served 15 subpoenas by the State Bureau of Investigation. According to a decree published by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on February 13, the sanctions against Poroshenko are to be applied indefinitely. Zelenskyy's move to impose sanctions on Poroshenko was seen as an attempt to diminish the ex-president's political influence ahead of potential elections.

By Naila Huseynova