Lutsenko: only united opposition can oppose challenges to Ukrainian statehood

12:16

Only a united opposition can fight against the main danger to Ukrainian statehood - the concentration of power in the hands of one political force - People's Self-Defense leader Yuriy Lutsenko has said.

"For the first time since [the presidency] of the 'unforgettable' Leonid Kuchma, maximum power is in the hands of one politician, [Ukraine's President] Viktor Yanukovych. He is not just the president of Ukraine, [but] he controls the majority of the Verkhovna Rada, totally controls the cabinet, controls the police, the prosecutor's office, the SBU, the Supreme Council of Justice, [and] the courts and the biggest central TV channels [are under his control]," Lutsenko said at Tuesday's meeting of oppositional forces, dedicated to the creation of a united opposition, the press service of People's Self-Defense reported.

Lutsenko said "this concentration of power is dangerous to any democratic force."

"But in the hands of [President] Viktor Yanukovych and the Regions Party this danger rises by several times. Only a united opposition can oppose this," he said.