Voices of Ukraine

Kyiv, 27 May, 2014. An early presidential election took place in Ukraine on May 25. Despite ongoing instability and violence in the east of the country, a record-breaking turnout of voters – more than 61% – came out to vote nationwide. According to preliminary results, the vast majority of Ukrainians – nearly 60% – have voted for Petro Poroshenko, an active participant in the Euromaidan protests and a multi-millionaire businessman. The two far-right nationalist parties, Svoboda and Right Sector, received less than 2 percent of the votes between them. These results debunk the Kremlin-sponsored myth about neo-Nazis coming to power in Ukraine.

The May 25 presidential elections ended a transitional period in Ukrainian politics: since former president Viktor Yanukovych fled the country in late February, Ukraine has been governed by an Acting Head of State, an Acting Prime Minister and an Acting Government. Under these circumstances, with only the…

Hundreds of Ukrainians gathered outside the Russian embassy in Canberra on Sunday in protest against the Putin government’s occupation of the Crimean Peninsula and other eastern regions of Ukraine. Coinciding with the Ukrainian presidential elections, the demonstration was just one of many happening worldwide. About 500 people travelled from Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane to demonstrate, with Ukrainian citizens taking the opportunity to cast their vote at the Ukrainian embassy before staging a peaceful protest outside Russia’s embassy in Griffith.