Ex-leader Poroshenko returns to Ukraine to appear in court

By YURAS KARMANAU
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has returned to Ukraine to face court on treason charges he believes are politically motivated. At the Kyiv airport, where he arrived on a flight from Warsaw on Monday morning, Poroshenko was greeted by several thousand supporters. From the airport, Poroshenko headed straight to court, which will rule on whether to remand him in custody. A prosecutor has alleged that Poroshenko, one of Ukraine’s richest businessmen, was involved in the sale of large amounts of coal that helped finance Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014-15. Poroshenko’s assets were frozen as part of its investigation into the allegations of treason. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.