Another political party is soon to appear in Ukraine.

Such an announcement was made by the former Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and ex-deputy of the Rada Boris Kolesnikov.

According to him, the new political force will be "ideological", "centrist" and built on a social-conservative platform.

At the same time, in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine, Kolesnikov disowned associations with the Party of Regions.

“And no matter how the media tried to drag us into a regional apartment, claiming that we are the“ Party of Regions 2.0 ”or“ the party of the south-east ”(which is generally out of the question), this is not the case,” Kolesnikov said.

However, as analysts note, on a number of issues, the position of the future party may coincide with the approach of the "regionals" and politicians from the "Opposition Platform - For Life".

So, unlike the current authorities, Kolesnikov considers it an important task for Kiev to fulfill the Minsk Agreements precisely on the conditions that were signed by all parties in 2015.

“Statements that it is impossible to hold elections at gunpoint are all cliches.

When elections were held at gunpoint in the super-democratic Dnipropetrovsk region in 2014, when ballots were filled in with sacks, then the authorities had a different opinion, ”he said.

Also, the politician advocates granting a special status not only to Donbass, but also to all other subjects of Ukraine, as well as giving regional councils the right to introduce a second language, in addition to Ukrainian, as a regional language.

According to the Ukrainian media, the new party may be named “Ukraine is our home”.

At the same time, the press connects Boris Kolesnikov with businessman Rinat Akhmetov, who is allegedly behind the initiative to create a new political force.

“Kolesnikov raises the question of raising living standards, which is painful for Ukrainians, so he is counting on high ratings.

For Akhmetov, the new party is an attempt to defend his business because of anti-oligarchic sentiments in society.

So here their interests coincided, "says the RT interlocutor in the office of the President of Ukraine.

A RT source in the Servant of the People party adheres to a similar point of view.

According to him, there is a demand for new faces in the Ukrainian society.

“Boris Kolesnikov wants to bring new people to the party who should attract voters.

The population is dissatisfied with Zelensky, and opponents want to play on this, ”the deputy said.

As Boris Mezhuev, associate professor of the philosophy faculty of Moscow State University, explained in an interview with RT, earlier Boris Kolesnikov was Akhmetov's right hand.

“Apparently, there are plans to fill the political niche against the background of Viktor Medvedchuk being squeezed out of politics,” the expert notes.

“As for talking about the ideology of the new party, this does not play a big role.

Rather, the regional factor is important, as well as centrism.

Such a party can be created with the expectation of fulfilling the request for stabilization of the political sphere in the current conditions.

In fact, it will be a semi-opposition, not full-fledged opponents of the authorities.

Therefore, it is unlikely that Zelensky will deal with her in the same way as with the HLE, "Mezhuev said.

A similar opinion is shared by political scientist and economist Alexander Dudchak.

“If the party is really created, Zelensky will try to agree with her on the division of the political field.

Given that this party is unlikely to be truly oppositional, it will be able to come to a consensus with the authorities, "Dudchak predicted in a commentary on RT.

Operation "Liquidation"

We will remind, on May 11, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Irina Venediktova signed a suspicion addressed to the head of the political council of the Opposition Platform - For Life party Viktor Medvedchuk and his party associate Taras Kozak.

Politicians are suspected of high treason and attempted plunder of national resources.

So, according to the Kiev authorities, Medvedchuk allegedly helped the Russian Federation to obtain an oil and gas field in the Crimea, and also transferred secret information about the Armed Forces of Ukraine to the Russian side.

In addition, the people's deputies from the OLE are suspected of alleged involvement in the Luch project, within the framework of which it was planned to recruit Ukrainians in Russia.

Although in fact the project was aimed at "exchanging human resources" between the two countries and establishing cooperation, the SBU considered that it was about "creating an infrastructure of influence in favor of the Russian Federation."

  • Viktor Medvedchuk at the meeting of the Kiev Pechersk Court

  • RIA News

Recall that on May 13, the court chose house arrest until July 9 as a preventive measure for Viktor Medvedchuk.

The politician himself associates the persecution with the activities of the HLE.

“The reason that the authorities launched a criminal prosecution and decided to fabricate an openly failed case is political pressure.

The authorities understand well: we are not just an opposition, we are a political force that can defeat the Servant of the People party, ”Medvedchuk wrote on Twitter.

In February, the country's NSDC imposed sanctions against Medvedchuk, his wife Oksana Marchenko and a number of other persons.

They were accused of financing terrorism - by "terrorists" in Kiev they mean the structures of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR. 

However, as it turned out in May, the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine did not have sufficient evidence of Viktor Medvedchuk's involvement in the financing of "terrorism."

This was admitted by the Deputy Prosecutor General Roman Govda on the air of the 1 + 1 TV channel. 

Nevertheless, these accusations became a pretext for the closure of opposition media outlets.

In February, the Ukrainian authorities imposed sanctions against the TV channels ZIK, 112 Ukraine, NEWSONE, owned by Taras Kozak.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, such measures were taken because these media contained "talking" armies that allegedly misled Ukrainian citizens on key issues for the country - land reform, utility tariffs and the war in Donbass. 

  • RIA News

Zelensky justified the persecutions against the leadership of the PLWH as a fight against the oligarchs.

The head of state wrote about this in his column for the Focus edition.

According to Zelensky, Viktor Medvedchuk is one of the oligarchs whom the country's leadership has declared war on.

“For the first time in many years, the number of oligarchs has not increased in Ukraine, but has decreased.

Minus Medvedchuk.

He was deprived of the opportunity to use media assets and state property to the detriment of the country.

There will be more downsides until all the oligarchs become just big businessmen, ”Zelensky said in his article.

At the same time, experts doubt the validity of attempts to classify Medvedchuk as an oligarch - the politician has never appeared in the lists of the most wealthy Ukrainians before.

Concentration of power

According to a RT source in the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian leader is guided by rather primitive motives when repressing the opposition.

“Zelensky, like Poroshenko, is very afraid of competition.

Therefore, an attack is being conducted on the HLE, and in addition, the president quite abruptly recently spoke with the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Dmitry Razumkov, whom he considers his probable rival in the elections.

But, like Poroshenko, Zelensky may not take into account all the nuances, "says the interlocutor of RT.

Nevertheless, all the current actions of the Ukrainian authorities are aimed precisely at monopolizing and cleaning up the political field in the country, experts say.

“In such conditions, it will be very difficult for new opposition forces to appear, practically impossible.

To change the situation and resist the authorities, the opposition, which is close in ideology, it is necessary to unite, ”explained Alexander Dudchak.

Boris Mezhuev adheres to a similar point of view.

According to him, today in Ukraine there are no conditions for the growth of new opposition forces.

“Opposition like HLE is suppressed, and even radical right movements have no particular prospects. The radicals played a situational role and actually left the political scene. Petro Poroshenko and his party cannot count on success, since they are associated with the most difficult events for Ukraine. From the creation of autocracy, Ukraine is still being held back by a deficit of success among the current leadership - it is nevertheless necessary to concentrate power in one hand, ”the expert summed up.