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The Latest: EU Pledges Support for New Leader in Ukraine

The Latest: EU Pledges Support for New Leader in Ukraine

Monday, 22 April 2019 05:38 AM EDT

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The Latest on the results of Ukraine's presidential vote in which TV actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy won in a landslide (all times local):

12 noon

The European Union is congratulating Volodymyr Zelenskiy on his election as Ukrainian president, pledging strong support for his plans to reform the country and fight corruption.

In a joint letter to Zelenskiy on Monday, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council chief Donald Tusk said the political novice can "count on the EU's continued and steadfast support of Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity."

Juncker and Tusk wrote that "you can count on the EU's strong support to Ukraine's reform path, including consolidating the rule of law, fighting corruption, maintaining macro-financial stability and pursuing the essential reform of the energy sector." And they said that further implementation of a Ukraine-EU association agreement could be a "crucial instrument" in achieving that.

Zelenskiy, a TV actor, trounced incumbent Petro Poroshenko in Sunday's election.

11:30 p.m.

Even with a landslide win in Ukraine's presidential election to give him a powerful mandate for change, TV actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy has daunting challenges ahead.

The simmering, deadly conflict in eastern Ukraine and the conundrum over Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea are likely to dominate the agenda of the man who up until now has only played the president in a TV sitcom. Zelenskiy, a Russian speaker from central Ukraine has promised to step up efforts to re-integrate the east back into Ukraine's fold but has offered no details on how he is going to do that.

A political novice, 41-year-old Zelenskiy will also have to face off against Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has ruled his country for nearly two decades, if he wants to mend relations with Ukraine's neighbor.

10:30 a.m.

With nearly all the votes counted in Ukraine, TV star Volodymyr Zelenskiy is projected to win the country's presidential runoff vote in a landslide.

The Central Election Commission says Monday that Zelenskiy has won 73% of the vote while the incumbent President Petro Poroshenko got just 24% support with more than 96% of the ballots counted.

Unlike in most of the elections in Ukraine's post-Soviet history, Zelenskiy appears to have won both in Ukraine's west and east, areas that have been traditionally polarized. One of the campaign slogans of the popular television comedian who has no previous political experience was to unify Ukraine, which has been torn by bitter debates over its identity as well as the separatist conflict in the east that is fueled by neighboring Russia.

© Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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The Latest on the results of Ukraine's presidential vote in which TV actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy won in a landslide (all times local):12 noonThe European Union is congratulating Volodymyr Zelenskiy on his election as Ukrainian president, pledging strong support for his plans...
EU,Ukraine,Election,The Latest
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2019-38-22
Monday, 22 April 2019 05:38 AM
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