The Approaches of Presidents P. Poroshenko and V. Zelensky to the Settlement of the Conflict in the Donbass: Comparative Analysis

The article is devoted to the analysis of the approaches of the presidents of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and Volodymyr Zelensky to the issue of resolving the conflict in Donbass. The election of Vladimir Zelensky in 2019 as president of Ukraine gave rise to hope among some politicians and experts regarding the possibility of resolving the conflict that has been ongoing in 2014 in the Donbass. This was explained by the fact that, unlike his predecessor, he had no previous relation to politics, was not related to the outbreak of the conflict, and also that V. Zelensky actively used peace-loving rhetoric in his election campaign. In this regard, more than a year after V. Zelensky’s victory in the presidential election, the aim of the article was to compare his approach with P. Poroshenko’s approach to resolving the conflict in the Donbass. The study sequentially examines the approaches of the Ukrainian government in 2014-2019 to the conflict in the southeast of the country, the current Ukrainian political class approaches to the Donbass problem and directly the politician V. Zelensky himself regarding the settlement of the conflict. Taking into account Russia’s involvement in the events in Ukraine, Kiev’s policy towards Donbass is also considered in the context of Ukraine’s foreign policy towards Russia. As a result of the study, the conclusion is drawn about the significant continuity of the policy of V. Zelensky regarding his predecessor. At the same time, the material notes differences in the approaches of the two Ukrainian presidents and gives the forecast regarding the further development of Ukraine’s policy regarding the settlement of the conflict in the Donbass.