He declared himself mayor after leading an assault on the Sloviansk mayor's office on 14 April 2014, as part of the 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine. Ponamarev is a strong opponent of the government of Ukraine that formed in Kiev after the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, and refers to it as fascist. He claims that coalition government in Kiev is run by "Nazis" and "homosexuals". Ponomaryov stated that he would do everything he could to prevent the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election taking place.