Viktor Yushchenko

Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko on Sunday pressed for the prime minister's removal from office, dismissal of electoral officials and new laws to guard against fraud in a repeat presidential vote, warning that his supporters' blockades of government offices would continue until outgoing President Leonid D. Kuchma meets those demands.

Yulia Tymoshenko has fought her way out of poverty, out of jail, out of standoffs with Russia. She's fought in the streets and in parliament; through communism, post-communism and a messy, primordial democracy. Admirers and detractors alike tend to say one thing about the Ukrainian prime minister with the golden braid wound like a crown over her brow: Tymoshenko knows how to fight. And now her biggest battle is heading for a climax as Ukrainians go to the polls today to elect a new president.

Viktor Yushchenko was sworn in Sunday as president of Ukraine, pledging to root out corruption, promote national unity and build strong ties with the rest of Europe. The former opposition leader took his oath of office in parliament, his hand on an antique Bible. But he honored supporters by delivering his main inaugural speech in central Kiev's Independence Square, the site of mass demonstrations late last year that helped force a rerun of fraud-marred balloting.

Warning that falsification of parliamentary election results would be punished, President Viktor Yushchenko on Monday ordered a criminal inquiry into delayed vote counting in regions that are strongholds of his longtime rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich. The prime minister, for his part, accused parties associated with the president of prematurely claiming victory based on exit polls rather than waiting for the ballots cast in Sunday's election to be counted.

Ukrainian presidential hopeful Viktor Yushchenko was poisoned with dioxin, most likely intentionally, doctors in Vienna who had been struggling to diagnose his mystery illness confirmed Saturday. Yushchenko, a pro-Western opposition leader, has alleged since suddenly falling ill in September that he was poisoned in an attempt to kill a key critic of Ukraine's government. Authorities have denied the charge, and some government supporters have ridiculed it.

After last week's signing of a five-year natural gas agreement with Russia, President Viktor Yushchenko was basking in self-congratulation. "I would call it a brilliant achievement," he told Ukraine's NTN television. But former ally Yulia Tymoshenko thought otherwise. "Only a person with a huge New Year's hangover can call this a success," declared Tymoshenko, who was a partner in the 2004 Orange Revolution that brought Yushchenko to power and was his prime minister until last fall.

The nation's feuding president and prime minister agreed today to hold early parliamentary elections on Sept. 30, defusing a crisis that threatened to escalate into violence Saturday when the president sent troops streaming toward the capital, Kiev. Emerging from eight hours of tense talks, President Viktor Yushchenko said, "The political crisis in Ukraine is over."

Lawmakers decided that Viktor Yushchenko would be sworn in Sunday as president of Ukraine after weeks of turmoil in which he defeated a Kremlin-backed candidate at the polls. The move came hours after Yushchenko cleared the last in a series of legal obstacles that had arisen since his Dec. 26 election, including a Supreme Court appeal by loser Viktor Yanukovich.

Parliament approved President Viktor Yushchenko's choice for prime minister after he made a pact with an old foe. Lawmakers approved Yuri Yekhanurov after Yushchenko signed a truce with the Party of the Regions, led by losing presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovich. That backing helped offset the defection of some of Yushchenko's Orange Revolution allies after Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was ousted.

More than 70,000 demonstrators in Kiev called on the president to defeat a challenge from the rival prime minister by dissolving parliament and calling new elections. A smaller rally supported the prime minister. President Viktor Yushchenko accused Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich of trying to usurp power by recruiting lawmakers allied with the president. Dissolving parliament could spark a crisis, particularly if Yanukovich's coalition refuses to abide by such a move.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko charged Tuesday that Russia has frustrated efforts to investigate a plot to kill him by dioxin poisoning during a presidential campaign in which Moscow backed his opponent. In published remarks, Yushchenko did not explicitly accuse Russian authorities of involvement in the 2004 assassination attempt.

The nation's feuding president and prime minister agreed today to hold early parliamentary elections on Sept. 30, defusing a crisis that threatened to escalate into violence Saturday when the president sent troops streaming toward the capital, Kiev. Emerging from eight hours of tense talks, President Viktor Yushchenko said, "The political crisis in Ukraine is over."

In the midst of a bitter political standoff, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko issued a decree Friday transferring control of Interior Ministry troops into his own hands and away from a minister loyal to his longtime rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich. The prime minister said the president's action was unconstitutional.

In an effort to resolve a political crisis, Ukraine's president and prime minister agreed Friday to hold early parliamentary elections this summer or fall. The deal, which sets the stage for a fresh match between the political camps that faced off during the nation's Orange Revolution, is a victory for President Viktor Yushchenko, who had pressed for an early vote.

More than 70,000 demonstrators in Kiev called on the president to defeat a challenge from the rival prime minister by dissolving parliament and calling new elections. A smaller rally supported the prime minister. President Viktor Yushchenko accused Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich of trying to usurp power by recruiting lawmakers allied with the president. Dissolving parliament could spark a crisis, particularly if Yanukovich's coalition refuses to abide by such a move.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko announced early today that he would nominate Viktor Yanukovich as prime minister, in a deal that brings together bitter foes from the country's 2004 "Orange Revolution." "I have taken the decision to put forward Viktor Yanukovich for the post of Ukraine's prime minister," Yushchenko said in a televised address. "We have a good chance to escape the political war and pass to political competition."

Election officials rejected Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich's bid to overturn results showing that he lost this week's presidential revote, saying he had not proved that there were any mass violations, a commission member said. Managers of Yanukovich's campaign vowed to take their appeal to the Supreme Court. The prime minister has refused to accept results showing a solid victory for opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko in Sunday's vote. That runoff was a repeat of a Nov. 21 vote.

An aide to President Viktor Yushchenko who was a chief organizer of the "Orange Revolution" protests said he had quit to protest systemic corruption around the Ukrainian leader. In a news conference broadcast live, State Secretary Oleksandr Zinchenko levied charges against Petro Poroshenko, head of Ukraine's Defense and Security Council; Oleksandr Tretyakov, an aide to Yushchenko; and Mykola Martynenko, head of the pro-presidential faction in parliament. His words were met with heavy applause.

Ordinarily, June is the month when the tourists flock here from chillier points north, when families move into their storage rooms and stand at the train station holding "for rent" signs to let their apartments. The rocky sand beach becomes dotted with jumbo bottles of Russian beer and plump, sunburned babushkas in swimsuits. This spring, though, Ukraine's balmy Crimean Peninsula has seen more protest flags than beach umbrellas.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, faced with a rebellious parliament and a bitterly split society, pledged Thursday to keep his nation on a pro-Western course despite resistance by opponents of that policy. He also called for a national referendum to undo new curbs on presidential power that he agreed to under pressure as a candidate more than a year ago.