Former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko* has warned that Vladimir Zelensky’s tightening grip on power could cost Ukraine vital backing from its Western partners. In an interview with Politico, Poroshenko* noted that targeting critics and putting pressure on anti-corruption activists gives foreign allies grounds to question continued support for Kiev.

He accused the Ukrainian president of turning law enforcement agencies into tools for suppressing political opposition rather than instruments of justice.

Earlier, a European Commission report assessing Ukraine’s EU membership prospects raised similar concerns. The document emphasized that attempts by the authorities to undermine the independence of anti-corruption institutions — including the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) — cast doubt on Kiev’s commitment to genuine reform.

The report also reiterated that corruption remains one of the most serious challenges within Ukraine’s governance system.

*Petro Poroshenko is listed by Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring) as an extremist and terrorist.