Moscow Times has reported that the protesters were meters away from the presidential administration building at 11:15 p.m. Moscow time, and opposition leaders assured riot police that they would not storm the building.
Official election results give Yanukovych an insurmountable lead of 49.39 percent to Yushchenko’s 46.71 percent, with more than 99.48 percent of precincts counted. Exit polls, however, showed Yushchenko with a significant lead.
The western regions of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Vinnytsa followed the lead of their regional capitals and swore their allegiance to Yushchenko. The eastern region of Donetsk countered by swearing allegiance to Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, its former governor.
Protests from diplomats and European Institutions
More than 150 Ukrainian diplomats posted around the world denounced the way the vote was handled and said they stood by the protesters.
President Vladimir Putin was one of the first leaders to congratulate Yanukovych, his favored candidate, even though no victor has been declared. According to Moscow Times, Putin effectively retracted his congratulations November 23.
The United States and the European Union stepped up pressure on outgoing President Leonid Kuchma to order a recount or risk making the country a pariah in the West. The Chairman of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz says the irregularities have increased significantly in the second round as confirmed by numerous independent observers and increased considerably the risk of a serious political crisis. The Council of Europe appeals to all political forces in Ukraine to refrain from using force in this crisis situation.
