(by Mattia Bernardo Bagnoli) (ANSA) - MOSCOW - ''The choice is between me and Vladimir Putin''. Petro Poroshenko, on the eve of the elections that will determine the fate of Ukraine, has decided to put all his eggs in one basket: patriotism. The country is actually at war. So his message is: 'who do you trust the most when the issue is to defend the nation?' Perhaps not of a 'comedian' lent to politics like Vladimir Zelensky, whom the polls put ahead of all the contenders.

The strategy was carefully pursued and produced good results, given that the current president now finds himself between the second and third place. And the second round could favor him, in the event of a run-off with Zelensky.

''Today the issue of national defense is the main political issue'', said Konstantin Skorkin, a political analyst at the Carnegie Center in Moscow.

In short, despite the widespread discontent over unfulfilled promises - the fight against corruption above all - and the terrible state of the economy, Poroshenko could still have some chances. A recent Gallup poll has shown that only 9% of the Ukrainian population trusts the current government.

Poroshenko promised in 2014 that the war would end in a short time and inequality and robbery would be eliminated. Instead, recent journalistic and judicial investigations have accused his entourage of being involved in several scandals.

In short, there are sufficient reasons to explain the rise of Zelensky and the return of Yulia Timoshenko, former premier and leader of the opposition at the time of the orange uprising, who is now boasting about a populist platform. With regard to Russia, however, Poroshenko's stance remains tough and unmistakable. ''Who is my opponent?'', he told a public TV. ''I say this aloud and I'm the only one who does it because the others are afraid: my opponent is Putin. The choice is now between supporting Ukraine or backing Russia''. Rien ne va plus.

(ANSA).