Yanukovich Steps Down as Premier

Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, yielding to a parliamentary vote of no confidence, resigned Friday but said he would continue a legal effort to overturn results showing he lost Ukraine’s recent presidential election.

He acknowledged, however, that he held little hope his appeals would succeed.

“There is no point in staying on as prime minister,” Yanukovich said in a nationally televised New Year’s address. “The political role of the Yanukovich government as a factor of stability in the past year is all but exhausted. I formally announce my resignation.”

Yanukovich had been able to formally keep his post because he took a vacation to campaign, and because outgoing President Leonid D. Kuchma had not accepted parliament’s early December vote.

Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, the unofficial winner of Sunday’s balloting, spoke a few hours later to a festive crowd of about 100,000 gathered in central Kiev’s Independence Square, congratulating them, saying they had made their country more free. Many had participated in protests that helped lead to a Supreme Court ruling that Yanukovich’s Nov. 21 victory was invalid because of fraud.

“The Ukrainian people had only a few decades of real independence in the last 800 years,” Yushchenko said. “Burial mounds of heroes, who fought for Ukraine’s independence, are scattered all over the Ukrainian land. We have been independent for 14 years, but we have not been free. Today we are independent and free.”

Yushchenko, who expects to be inaugurated in mid-January, expressed thanks to those who came to the square during the protests. “We are on the eve of New Year,” he said. “On behalf of my family, I would like to wish well-being and happiness to every Ukrainian household.”

The unofficial president-elect was joined by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who led a nonviolent “Rose Revolution” last year that helped set a model for Ukraine’s “Orange Revolution.” In Georgia’s uprising, Saakashvili carried a single long-stemmed rose while leading protesters who stormed into parliament. Ukraine’s Orange Revolution is a reference to Yushchenko’s campaign color.

“You do not fully realize yourselves what this square means to the world,” declared Saakashvili, who like Yushchenko is seen as a pro-Western democratic reformer. “We held our breath watching you. We admired your courage. The future destiny of Europe was being decided in this square. Good overcame evil in this square.

“You had us relive the moments of joy that we sensed during our own, Georgian, revolution. We Georgians were very proud to see our national flags in this square. I want you to know that we will always be on your side.”

Saakashvili said that as “a president and official,” he had been unable to join the Ukrainian demonstrators but that he had been with them in his heart. “Each freedom-loving person was a Kievite at that time, at the time of the Orange Revolution, which has changed Europe,” he said.

After arriving in Kiev on Friday afternoon, Saakashvili visited a tent camp, set up on the city’s main street shortly after the Nov. 21 balloting, that served as a key base for protesters during the weeks of rallies. About 20 Georgian flags were displayed there, alongside banners of Yushchenko’s campaign.

“It’s exciting,” Saakashvili said while touring the camp, greeting protesters and signing autographs. “It looks familiar to us.”

Ukraine’s Orange Revolution “was important for the whole region,” he said. “We are no longer alone.”

Luda Dubchak, 23, a teacher from Odessa, was in the square waving a Georgian flag as Saakashvili passed through after his visit to the tent camp. She said she was thankful for what he had done.

“We’re grateful to them for bringing the spirit of victory to Ukraine,” she said, adding that she was happy to see him in person.

“I hope we’ve won,” she added. “There is still some nervousness, because it’s not proven yet. The inauguration hasn’t taken place yet. But our hope is great.”

Yanukovich said in his address to the nation that he would continue his legal battle to overturn the results showing that Yushchenko had won Sunday’s vote by 52% to 44%, but he appeared more concerned with positioning himself as an opposition leader. He emphasized his view that the Nov. 21 runoff was the truly legal vote, despite the Supreme Court ruling that invalidated it.

“We are still fighting, but I don’t have much hope,” he said. “My team and I will remain politicians, as we won the legitimate elections of Nov. 21.”

Meanwhile, in Washington, the State Department expressed hope for a quick resolution to legal wrangling over the election.

“We’ve seen reports that Yanukovich has resigned,” said Lou Fintor, a State Department spokesman. “Our focus continues to be a quick, fair and transparent resolution of the election that reflects the will of the Ukrainian people.”