The Pechersky District Court of Kiev chose a measure of restraint for ex-president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko in the form of a personal obligation in the case of high treason and the sale of coal from the Donbass, and also ordered him to hand over his passport to travel abroad.

The decision was announced by judge Alexei Sokolov.

The court session began on Monday, later it was postponed to January 19.

The prosecution asked the court to arrest Poroshenko for two months with the possibility of posting bail in the amount of 1 billion hryvnia (about $35.7 million).

Poroshenko himself announced his intention to appeal the court's decision, adding that the seizure of his passport hinders his political activities.

“This is a limitation, taking into account the fact that I now have an invitation for at least those foreign visits, the first of which begins on the 25th,” TASS quotes him.

Also, Poroshenko, commenting on the court decision, said that he "does not celebrate the victory."

“We are not celebrating because Zelensky’s insane scenario, as an absolute inadequate, has not yet ended,” RIA Novosti quotes him as saying.

Earlier, Poroshenko said that with the help of a criminal case, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky is trying to remove a political rival, and the case against him was falsified. 

In turn, the State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine also stated that the prosecution had grounds for appealing the measure of restraint to the former president.

The corresponding statement of the State Bureau of Investigation was published on Facebook.

The bureau expressed the opinion that the decision of the court as Poroshenko is being suppressed "will not ensure the proper behavior of the suspect."

Political scientist, economist Alexander Dudchak, in an interview with RT, called it expected that the court would elect a similar measure of restraint for the ex-president of Ukraine.

At the same time, the expert expressed the opinion that Vladimir Zelensky is still "in a difficult position."

“If Poroshenko were arrested, it could intensify protests and force supporters to rally around him.

But a measure of restraint in the form of a personal obligation characterizes Zelensky as a person incapable of tough decisions, ”the expert said.

He also called the court decision a victory for Poroshenko, but recalled that the former president of Ukraine still has to fight for his assets. 

Against the backdrop of the process, clashes between Poroshenko's supporters and the police took place near the courthouse.

As UNIAN reports, supporters of the former Ukrainian leader tried to light a fire in a barrel, but law enforcement officers did not allow it.

The police also fired tear gas at the protesters.

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  • © Sergei Supinsky

After the trial, Poroshenko's supporters went to the office of Volodymyr Zelensky.

According to a RIA Novosti correspondent, several thousand supporters of the ex-president lined up in a column and went to the office of the current head of state, declaring their intention to "say hello."

After some time, the protesters completed the action, lit fireworks and sang the anthem of Ukraine.

Recall that Poroshenko was charged with high treason on December 20. 

The State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine stated that Poroshenko is suspected of facilitating the activities of the self-proclaimed LPR and DPR, as well as buying coal for state funds in certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

This, according to the investigation, “made the energy sector dependent on the Russian Federation” and allegedly provided the Russian Federation with “broader opportunities for further interference in the internal affairs of Ukraine.”

Former Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksandr Turchynov called all the accusations against Poroshenko groundless and the criminal case fabricated.

At the same time, the head of the Main Investigation Department of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Anatoly Bunych, stated that Poroshenko used his powers as head of state to break contracts for the supply of coal from South Africa and facilitated the signing of contracts for the supply of coal from the territories of Donbass.

At the same time, according to Bunich, “at the request of representatives of Russia,” Poroshenko organized on behalf of Ukraine the signing of contracts for the supply of coal from the Donbass.”

Bunich stated that such actions are helping Russia, as well as the DPR and LPR, "in subversive activities against Ukraine, which is one of the forms of treason."

Viktor Medvedchuk, ex-Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn, and coal businessman Serhiy Kuzyara are also involved in the same criminal case.