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December 2, 2008 8:52:17 PM CST

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Ukraine Faces Early Election as Coalition Falls

Posted Sep 16, 08 6:47 AM CDT in World 

(Newser) – The government of Ukraine collapsed today after a falling out between the country's two pro-Western leaders, Bloomberg reports. President Viktor Yushchenko pulled his party out of the government of PM Yulia Tymoshenko last week after she tried to strip him of some of his powers. While Tymoshenko could try to form a new government with pro-Russian parties, the most likely outcome is early elections.

Yushchenko and Tymoshenko teamed up in 2004 during the Orange Revolution, the bloodless protest movement that brought them to power. But the pair have become fierce rivals, with each accusing the other of corruption and incompetence. Many say the Russia-Georgia conflict was the last straw: he accused her of appeasing Russia, while she told him that he was dragging Ukraine into war.

Sources Bloomberg, Associated Press

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Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko gestures speaking at a news conference in Kiev, Ukraine on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008.   (AP Photo/Mykhailo Markiv, Ukrainian Presidential Press Service)
PM Yulia Tymoshenko speaks in Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. She says she's been summoned by prosecutors to answer the president's accusations of high treason amid a fierce political struggle.   (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)
Dick Cheney and Yulia Tymoshenko during their meeting in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 5, 2008. Cheney met with Ukrainian leaders Friday, calling their relationship with the US "very important."   (AP Photo/Alexander Prokopenko, Pool)
Ukraine's parliamentarians congratulates Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko at the parliament in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, July 11, 2008.   (AP Photo)
Dick Cheney and Viktor Yushchenko at a joint news conference in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 5, 2008. Cheney met with Ukrainian leaders, calling their relationship with the US "very important."   (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov, Pool)
Viktor Yushchenko speaks before being questioned by prosecutors in a probe into his nearly lethal poisoning 4 years ago in Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, July 28, 2008.   (AP Photo)
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Russia • Georgia • Ukraine • Viktor Yushchenko • Yulia Tymoshenko • Orange Revolution


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