The Ukrainian parliament voted to set early elections for May 25 after declaring President Viktor Yanukovych unable to carry out constitutional duties.
The decision comes just hours after embattled Yanukovych said he wouldn't respect any decisions made by parliament.
Yanukovych stated Saturday that he has no intention to resign, and called the political crisis a coup while saying it resembles the rise of the Nazis in the 1930s.
The agreement reached Friday between Yanukovych and leaders of the opposition protests that have brought Ukraine into crisis called for early elections that were to be held no later than December, and constitutional reforms to reduce the president's powers.
But the possibility that he could remain in office for the rest of the year angered protesters who want his immediate departure, and said the deal did not address what triggered the protests in November -- Yankuvych's abandonment of closer ties with the European Union in favor of a bailout deal with longtime ruler Russia.
Protesters took control of Ukraine’s capital on Saturday, seizing the president’s office as parliament sought to oust him and form a new government. An aide to President Viktor Yanukovych said he had left Kiev for his support base in the country’s Russian-speaking east, but that he has no intention of abandoning power.
Yanukovych left Kiev for Kharkiv, where governors, provincial officials and legislators gathered. Top Russian lawmakers joined the meeting, too, while thousands of angry protesters gathered outside chanting, “Ukraine is not Russia!”
The leaders gathered in Kharkiv approved a statement calling on regional authorities to take full responsibility for the constitutional order on their territory.
Some called for forming volunteer units to protect against force by protesters from western regions. The assembly urged army units to maintain neutrality and protect ammunition depots.
Russia, the United States and the European Union are deeply worried about the future of Ukraine, a nation of 46 million whose loyalties and economy are divided between Europe and longtime ruler Moscow.
In a special parliament session, lawmakers warned that the country risks being split in two. The country's western regions want to be closer to the EU and have rejected Yanukovych's authority in many cities, while eastern Ukraine -- which accounts for the bulk of the nation's economic output -- favors closer ties with Russia.
Via: Fox News
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