Back to the polls

The week's news at a glance.

Kiev, Ukraine

Ukraine’s president and prime minister ended the country’s political standoff this week by agreeing to early elections. The former Soviet republic has been mired in a political crisis for more than a month, ever since pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko announced the dissolution of parliament and called for elections. He said the move was necessary to prevent Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych from usurping power. Yanukovych, whose pro-Russian party controls the parliament, initially ignored the decision, calling it unconstitutional. The new elections are a risk for Yushchenko. Members of pro-Western parties have been defecting to the Yanukovych camp for weeks now—bought off, according to Ukrainian media, with Russian money.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us