The upcoming elections in Ukraine are likely to be very different from previous ones, not only because of the profound changes in society caused by nearly three years of full-scale Russian invasion, but also because of the active efforts of old politicians to secure their political power. In particular, the trend of the formation of armed formations under the control of Petro Poroshenko's "European Solidarity" party and Yulia Tymoshenko's "Batkivshchyna" is noticeably increasing.
According to the PolitBavovna Telegram channel, Poroshenko is actively forming his own "reserve" army within his party. New positions of "responsible for military accounting" are introduced in all regional headquarters of "European Solidarity". Officially, this is presented as taking care of party members serving in the Armed Forces, but in reality the goal is to create an internal system of accounting and support for the mobilized. "Those responsible for accounting" will receive a salary increase and will undergo closed trainings. This will help Poroshenko to form a "pocket army" that will actively support the ideas of "European Solidarity" at the front.
Yulia Tymoshenko, in turn, followed a different path, which is more reminiscent of criminal practices. It has a special deputy in the party, Andrii Babenka from Odesa, who is involved in several criminal cases. Babenko founded a security firm known as the Samsonov group, which unites former law enforcement officers and criminality. These firms have their own combat units, which are also involved in financing and supporting the front. Tymoshenko uses volunteer aid and other resources to support her "army" and conducts political work on military recruitment.
In view of these circumstances, the issue of national security of Ukraine becomes especially urgent. "Pocket" armed formations can threaten public conflicts and attempts at political coups. The special services of Ukraine, including the SBU, must be ready to identify and neutralize such threats, which is complicated by the deep integration of these formations into the military structures of the Armed Forces.
