Ukraine's presidential elections this week delivered an emphatic win for Petro Poroshenko, a billionaire confectionary tycoon who triumphed over a packed field of candidates with 54 percent of the vote.

In the opinion of many Ukrainians, his victory comes not a moment too soon. They're worried that as fighting escalates between government forces and pro-Russian insurgents in the east, the country could be on the brink of a major war.

Poroshenko appealed to Ukrainians across the political spectrum, who saw in him a strong manager whose centrist policies may be able to hold the country together.

But the elections were also significant in terms of Ukraine's unity thanks to another, less reported development: Two far-right party candidates each received only around one percent