Ukraine’s Pro-Russian Voters May Help Kremlin Reclaim Influence

(Bloomberg) -- A better-than-expected showing for Russia-leaning candidates in the first round of Ukraine’s presidential election could mean forces loyal to the Kremlin make inroads at the country’s parliamentary vote later this year.

While two pro-Western candidates will go head to head in a runoff in three weeks, Russia-friendly Yuriy Boyko and Oleksandr Vilkul garnered a combined 15 percent. Their performance doesn’t mean Ukraine will shift its allegiances eastward again any time soon. But it could add further intrigue to legislative elections scheduled for the fall.

“They offered people a return to the past, and it attracted older people,” said Viktor Zamiatin, a political analyst at the Razumkov Center in Kiev. “If things stay as they are, parties loyal to Russia will have more seats in the next parliament than they have now.”

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