National unity<\/p>\n
Both Poroshenko and Zelenskyy stayed at the same hotel during the Munich Security Conference last week \u2014 but their paths didn\u2019t cross.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have only spoken with him three times the past seven years,\u201d Poroshenko said. The last time was more than a year ago and \u201cwe discussed his so-called victory plan <\/a>and I told him not to worry and that we would back it as he\u2019s the commander-in-chief. Unfortunately, that was last time we spoke,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Poroshenko and Zelenskyy harbor deep animosity toward each other and traded fierce barbs during the 2019 election campaign. Nevertheless, Zelenskyy won by a landslide after saying he could settle the conflict with Russia through direct talks with Putin, and by reaching out to young voters via social networks with great success.<\/p>\n Ukrainian prosecutors, appointed by Zelenskyy, then ensnared Poroshenko in the courts<\/a>, charging him with serious crimes, including treason, conspiracy and corruption. Poroshenko says all the charges are trumped up, and he\u2019s confident that on March 6, the country\u2019s Supreme Court will rule them illegal and unconstitutional.<\/p>\n Following a series of recent corruption scandals that have forced the departure of Zelenskyy\u2019s chief of staff Andriy Yermak<\/a>, and amid growing criticism of democratic backsliding,<\/a> Ukraine\u2019s politics have become increasingly fragile, he argued. <\/p>\n