Leonid Kravchuk, Ukraine’s first president who agreed to give up his country’s Soviet nuclear arsenal, the third-largest in the world died on Tuesday, May 10. He was 88.
The presidency said;
“Sad news and a great loss,” presidential aide Andriy Yermak said on Telegram, describing him as “a wise patriot of Ukraine, a truly historical figure in gaining our independence”.
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A Soviet functionary who championed independence in the early 1990s, Kravchuk was elected in 1991 after the country declared independence from the Soviet Union.
He served as Ukraine president from
1991 to 1994.
In a post on Telegram, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko paid tribute to Kravchuk, hailing him for his “talent, a strong character and knowledge”.