Opposition Bloc expects influential faction in next Ukraine parliament

The Russian-oriented Opposition Bloc expects to gain
more than 100 seats in Ukraine’s parliament of 450 MPs after the October 2019
parliamentary elections, the pravda.com.ua news site reported on July 12,
citing Serhiy Lyovochkin, among the party’s leading sponsors. The party
currently consists of two main camps: the Kyiv faction led by MP Lyovochkin and
party head Yuriy Boyko, and the Donbas faction led by billionaire Rinat
Akhmetov and MP Oleksandr Vilkul. A third camp could join, led by Viktor
Medvedchuk, a confidante to Russian President Putin who is reported to be
financing the other leading Russian-oriented party, For Life.

Zenon Zawada: We see the expectation of 100 MPs as entirely realistic for the
Opposition Bloc. The most likely scenario to emerge in Ukraine’s parliament
after the October 2019 vote is a pro-Western coalition government, and a
Russian-oriented opposition led by Yuriy Boyko and the Opposition Bloc. This
will give Russian President Putin enormous influence in fulfilling his geopolitical
goals in Ukraine, including undermining NATO and EU integration.