KIEV -- Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Viktor Chernomyrdin called President Viktor Yushchenko's decision to dismiss the government "courageous" and said Monday that he hoped the country's political crisis would be resolved soon.
"The president of Ukraine made a courageous move and put everything in its place, and the president should not be reproached," Chernomyrdin said at a news conference. He urged Ukraine's leaders to act fast to form a new government.
But Ukraine's dismissed prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, said Monday that Yushchenko had become afraid of her growing popularity and predicted her bloc would win outright in March's parliamentary elections.
Yushchenko dismissed Tymoshenko's Cabinet on Thursday and accepted the resignation of his close ally, security chief Petro Poroshenko, amid accusations of corruption and infighting between rival groups in the administration.
Moscow Times