Petro Poroshenko has won this weekend’s presidential election in Ukraine. A business tycoon who previously served as economics and foreign minister, Poroshenko favors a trade deal with the European Union. Pundits view his ascent to the embattled country’s highest office as confirmation of the view that Ukraine wants to move towards the West. Nation contributor Stephen Cohen, appearing here on The John Batchelor Show, believes this is a problematic reading of the vote. “The election returns were primarily from Western Ukraine and Kiev. The East barely voted, so what we can say is Kiev and Western Ukraine elected a president.”
—David Kortava