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Ten Arrested In Ukraine After Corruption Protest At Poroshenko Campaign Appearance


A protester with a toy pig in Kyiv
A protester with a toy pig in Kyiv

Ten people were reported arrested after nationalist protesters attempted to disrupt a campaign appearance by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in the central city of Poltava.

Poltava police the demonstrators tried to start a conflict with police at the event on March 16 where Poroshenko was speaking ahead of the March 31 presidential election.

Police said members of several nationalist groups threw toy pigs -- symbolizing corruption -- at security forces and called for Oleh Hladkovskiy, the former first deputy secretary of the National Security Defense Council, to be arrested for alleged embezzlement.

Poltava is about 350 kilometers east of the capital, Kyiv.

In Kyiv, about 3,000 nationalists demonstrated outside the presidential administration building also calling for arrests to be made in the alleged corruption scheme that reportedly involved Ukrainian defense companies. They also threw pigs at police.

The embezzlement scheme, which was first reported after a journalistic investigation in February, is a major issue in the presidential campaign.

Based on reporting by AP, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, and 112 International

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

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