Petro Poroshenko argued there is not turning back to Soviet Union for Ukraine despite intimidation campaign of Moscow.

Today, it is not about Ukraine’s non-block status for Putin, said former Ukrainian president in the interview for Czech ‘Lidovky’, arguing the Russian president’s mindset is to see Ukraine’s full surrender.

Back in 2014, Ukraine was no part of any alliances and yet it never held back Moscow from snatching up Ukraine’s Crimea and parts of Donbas region.

Putin keeps shedding tears over loss of the Soviet Union as Moscow leaders find today’s reality alien and uncomfortable, argued the Ukrainian politician.

‘Just think of that. Putin sees no catastrophe in WWI and WWII’.  For him it was a catastrophe losing the Soviet Union, this cradle of dictatorship… with GULAG, Holodomor and evil ideology that strips you of freedom of speech, rule of law and democracy’.

Poroshenko raised doubts Moscow intimidation campaign can steer Kyiv  away from its pro-Western course as more people in Ukraine support the idea the country should join the EU and NATO.

These days the idea of Ukraine’s joining the EU and NATO is favored by  71% and 59% of Ukrainians respectively while before Crimea and Donbas events such support stood only at 30% and 16%.

What Kyiv needs now is wide domestic reforms that can boost its hopes of joining the Western alliances, said Poroshenko, noting that upcoming NATO summit in Madrid could go back to the idea of giving Kyiv NATO membership action plan.