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Petro Poroshenko, former Ukraine president, dons battle gear, joins countrymen in the streets: video

The former president also thanked the international community for supporting Ukraine

By Lawrence Richard Fox News
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Former Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko has been spotted among citizens in Kyiv wearing battle armor, a video online shows.

In the video, Poroshenko said the situation in Ukraine remained dire as Russia sieged the capital. 

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"We are in the center of Kyiv, we are here to protect Ukraine," said Poroshenko, who is seen wearing a bullet-proof vest. He said Russian forces were a "little bit more than 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from here."

Ukraine's former President Petro Poroshenko speaks to supporters and media outside the Kyiv District Court of Appeal on Jan. 28, 2022.

Ukraine's former President Petro Poroshenko speaks to supporters and media outside the Kyiv District Court of Appeal on Jan. 28, 2022. (Getty Images)

"This is very difficult to explain. What does it mean in the 21st century, in the middle of Europe, to be awakened by the Russian missile attack, by Russian airborne attack?" he added.

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The former president also thanked the international community for supporting Ukraine in the war noting it serves as "a great demonstration that Ukraine and its people are not alone."

Ukraine's former leader Petro Poroshenko waves during a rally outside the airport upon his arrival in Kyiv on Jan. 17, 2022.

Ukraine's former leader Petro Poroshenko waves during a rally outside the airport upon his arrival in Kyiv on Jan. 17, 2022. (Getty Images)

"We want to be free. We want to be democratic. And we want to return back our country to the European family," he continued. "Putin hates Ukraine, he hates Ukrainians."

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Poroshenko served in office 2014-2019, losing his re-election bid to current President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Vitali Klitschko, the current Kyiv mayor, and his brother, Wladimir Klitschko, a retired pro boxer, also joined the Ukrainian military to fight against Russia, writing on a LinkedIn post that was critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko speaks during a rally in Kyiv, July 16, 2020. 

Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko speaks during a rally in Kyiv, July 16, 2020.  (Getty Images)

"Putin wants to call into question the geopolitical balance across the whole of Europe, he dreams of being the defender of the Slavic peoples wherever they live, and he wants to restore a fallen empire whose demise he has never accepted," Klitschko wrote.