Ukraine fights for its people and existence, – Petro Poroshenko
Source: Petro Poroshenko in an interview to Vitalii Portnikov
The former president of Ukraine and leader of the ‘European Solidarity’ party Petro Poroshenko told about the mood of Ukrainian defenders at the front and what steps, in his opinion, can improve the situation on the battlefield.
Petro Poroshenko recently went to the front, so he was able to tell about the mood of the Ukrainian defenders. The politician has to state that the mood at the front is not optimistic, since the offensive ended and the positional war is extremely exhausting. In addition, soldiers do not see ‘good ending’ scenarios on the horizon. The modern war requires radical changes in terms of weapons supply. As of now, there is not even enough ammunition at the front.
However, despite the extremely difficult situation, there is no despair or defeatist moods at the front.
‘Ukraine fights not only and not so much for its territories – it fights for its people and for the existence of the country.
And also for its membership in the EU and NATO,’ Poroshenko stated.
He talked about the four steps necessary for changes that would make the work of the Ukrainian military easier.
The former president took the first step back in the 2014-2015 during his term of office. He instructed each regional head to take personal responsibility (in particular, budgetary responsibility) for the construction of fortifications.
According to Poroshenko, modern fortifications should be built, and no help from partners is needed for this.
The second step is to create minefields. After installing minefields along the border with Russia, it will be necessary to start installing them on the border with Belarus.
The third step is the increase in the number and use of drones.
The fourth position is to increase the number of powerful means of radio-electronic warfare. Petro Poroshenko personally invested 150 million hryvnias in the research and development of such tools.
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During the GLOBSEC Defence Forum 2026 in Prague, representatives of “Steel Front”, an initiative by Rinat Akhmetov, discussed with NATO delegations, military officials, and representatives of the European defense industry the lessons learned from Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine witnessed an unprecedented wave of private support for the army. Citizens, big businesses, charitable foundations, and international philanthropists began financing the country’s defense alongside state assistance provided by international partners. Estimates of total private contributions range from tens to hundreds of billions of hryvnias. However, determining the exact amount remains difficult. In many cases, companies combine military aid, humanitarian programs, tax payments, social spending, and employee support in their reporting.
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On October 6, the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued hearing case No. 990/80/25, in which the fifth President and leader of the party “European Solidarity”, Petro Poroshenko, seeks to have Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 from February 12, 2025 — enacting sanctions by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — declared illegal and annulled. The plaintiff claims the document was falsified and that the sanctions are a tool of political persecution of the opposition, contrary to international norms. Government representatives deny the allegations and insist their actions were lawful. Journalists of Bukvy were present at the hearing.