Ukrainian military hunting for ex-president’s draft-dodging son – media
Aleksey Poroshenko has reportedly flouted mobilization law and ignored multiple conscription notices
The eldest son of former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko, Aleksey Poroshenko, is being sought by law enforcement for dodging the military draft, several Ukrainian media outlets reported on Wednesday, citing sources in the armed forces.
The news comes amid an increasingly violent mobilization drive in Ukraine, as Russian forces advance in Donbass and Ukrainian troops suffer severe losses.
According to the news outlets Ukrainian Law and Business and Strana.ua, Aleksey Poroshenko ignored two notices to report to a conscription office back in October. His failure to respond to the summons is in violation of Ukrainian laws at a time of mobilization. The ex-president’s son is a reserve officer, Strana.ua noted.
Aleksey Poroshenko, his wife, daughter and son live in London and Singapore, according to Ukrainian media. From those two cities, Poroshenko remotely manages a business in Ukraine, which his father signed over to him, according to media reports.
The former president’s son reportedly took part in Ukraine’s so-called “anti-terrorist operation” aimed at subduing Donetsk and Lugansk in 2014. However, in the two months the younger Poroshenko served, he was guarded by 20 members of the Ukrainian special forces and did not participate in combat, Strana.ua wrote.
His father is currently a suspect in a years-long high treason case, over alleged secret coal deals with representatives of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics during his time in office.
Pyotr Poroshenko is a Ukrainian lawmaker and leader of European Solidarity party, a small opposition faction in parliament.
He was elected president in 2014, months after the US-backed coup in Kiev, which triggered the conflict in Donbass.
Two months into his tenure, he authorized the Ukrainian army to attack the Donbass city of Donetsk, resulting in an episode known as the Ilovaysk “cauldron” – in which Donetsk self-defense forces encircled the Ukrainian troops and destroyed them. The affair prompted Kiev’s Western backers to sue for the first Minsk Agreement, which they later acknowledged was only intended to buy time and arm Kiev against Moscow.
