Ukrainians hail comedian's landslide victory in presidential run-off

Reuters - As Ukraine woke up to a new president on Monday (April 22), Kiev residents praised election run-off winner Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The emphatic victory of comedian Zelenskiy, 41, is a bitter blow for incumbent Petro Poroshenko who tried to rally Ukrainians around the flag by casting himself as a bulwark against Russian aggression and a champion of Ukrainian identity. With 95 per cent of votes counted, Zelenskiy had won 73 per cent of the vote with Poroshenko winning just under 25 per cent, the Ukrainian Central Election Commission said. Voters pin hopes that Zelesnkiy will bring a new way of governing the country. Zelenskiy, who plays a fictitious president in a popular TV series, is now poised to take over the leadership of a country on the frontline of the West's standoff with Russia following Moscow's annexation of Crimea and support for a pro-Russian insurgency in eastern Ukraine.