Billionaire Petro Poroshenko leads all candidates with 54% of the vote counted in Ukraine's presidential election, the Central Elections Commission reported Monday. He declared victory a day earlier, following preliminary exit polls that suggested he had secured a majority of the vote. His closest challenger, Yulia Tymoshenko, a former Ukrainian prime minister and the leader of the Batkivshchyna party, conceded the election after exit polls showed her with 13% of the vote, which matched Monday's early official tally. Poroshenko, a candy tycoon known as the "Chocolate King," is also a seasoned politician known for his pro-European Union views. At a news conference in Kiev, he reiterated that European integration would be his priority. He added that in Sunday's vote, the President and the whole of Ukraine had changed.
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Poroshenko says Russia needs to help bring peace to eastern Ukraine
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Russian FM Lavrov says Russia respects choice but has some concerns about vote
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Gunbattles break out at Donetsk airport as troops try to clear out separatist gunmen
"Despite provocations and violence, millions of @placeholder went to the polls throughout the country, and even in parts of eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatist groups sought to disenfranchise entire regions, some courageous Ukrainians still were able to cast their ballots," he said in a written statement.