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Tymoshenko Says She Will Run for President of Ukraine Tymoshenko Says She Will Run for President of Ukraine
(about 7 hours later)
KIEV, Ukraine — Yulia V. Tymoshenko, the former prime minister of Ukraine, said on Thursday that she would run for president in elections to be held in May, making it clear that after two and a half years in prison she intends to play an active role as her country struggles with political and financial upheaval as well as the Russian annexation of Crimea.KIEV, Ukraine — Yulia V. Tymoshenko, the former prime minister of Ukraine, said on Thursday that she would run for president in elections to be held in May, making it clear that after two and a half years in prison she intends to play an active role as her country struggles with political and financial upheaval as well as the Russian annexation of Crimea.
Ms. Tymoshenko, a charismatic but also potentially polarizing figure, ran unsuccessfully for president in 2010 against her archrival, Viktor F. Yanukovych. She is now the best-known candidate in a field that includes Petro Poroshenko, a billionaire known as the chocolate king, and Vitali V. Klitschko, a former champion boxer who is a leader in Parliament.Ms. Tymoshenko, a charismatic but also potentially polarizing figure, ran unsuccessfully for president in 2010 against her archrival, Viktor F. Yanukovych. She is now the best-known candidate in a field that includes Petro Poroshenko, a billionaire known as the chocolate king, and Vitali V. Klitschko, a former champion boxer who is a leader in Parliament.
Ms. Tymoshenko was jailed on charges that were criticized by the West as politically motivated and as stemming from her rivalry with Mr. Yanukovych, who fled Kiev and then was formally ousted by Parliament in February after more than three months of civil unrest.Ms. Tymoshenko was jailed on charges that were criticized by the West as politically motivated and as stemming from her rivalry with Mr. Yanukovych, who fled Kiev and then was formally ousted by Parliament in February after more than three months of civil unrest.
She was freed from a prison hospital just hours after Mr. Yanukovych fled the presidential residence, and she immediately went to Independence Square, the central gathering point for demonstrators in Kiev, where she received a mixed reception.She was freed from a prison hospital just hours after Mr. Yanukovych fled the presidential residence, and she immediately went to Independence Square, the central gathering point for demonstrators in Kiev, where she received a mixed reception.
Although Ms. Tymoshenko has long harbored ambitions to be president of Ukraine, and despite her candidacy being widely expected, she had seemed to waver a bit in recent weeks. While the demonstrators in Kiev were thrilled about Mr. Yanukovych’s ouster, many have expressed suspicions of anyone with longstanding ties to Ukrainian politics, which has a deep history of corruption and mismanagement.Although Ms. Tymoshenko has long harbored ambitions to be president of Ukraine, and despite her candidacy being widely expected, she had seemed to waver a bit in recent weeks. While the demonstrators in Kiev were thrilled about Mr. Yanukovych’s ouster, many have expressed suspicions of anyone with longstanding ties to Ukrainian politics, which has a deep history of corruption and mismanagement.
She announced her political intentions on a day of fast-moving diplomatic and economic developments in the Ukraine crisis. The International Monetary Fund announced an agreement to provide the country with up to $18 billion in urgently needed loans; the House and Senate in Washington approved a $1 billion aid package and new sanctions against Russians and Ukrainians deemed responsible for the Crimea annexation; and the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to reject that annexation, a symbolic step that Western nations called an embarrassing rebuke to Russia.
And in a possible sign of further internal political turmoil in Ukraine, hundreds of members of Right Sector, the extreme nationalist group that played a role in Mr. Yanukovych’s ouster, gathered outside Kiev’s Parliament building Thursday night, demanding the resignation of the interim interior minister. They were angry over the police killing earlier in the week of a far-right activist, Oleksandr Muzychko, whom the Interior Ministry had described as a violent member of an armed criminal group. The crowd later dispersed but promised to return on Friday.
Ms. Tymoshenko announced her decision at a news conference at the headquarters of her political party, Fatherland, in a leafy, mostly residential neighborhood of Kiev.Ms. Tymoshenko announced her decision at a news conference at the headquarters of her political party, Fatherland, in a leafy, mostly residential neighborhood of Kiev.
“I will be the candidate of Ukrainian unity,” Ms. Tymoshenko, said at the news conference, according to The Associated Press. “The west and center of Ukraine has always voted for me, but I was born in the east, in Dnepropetrovsk.” “I plan to run for the position of president of Ukraine, " Ms. Tymoshenko said at the news conference. Ms. Tymoshenko said that she considered President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in the aftermath of Mr. Yanukovych’s departure from Ukraine, “enemy number one of Ukraine.”
Ms. Tymoshenko, who is known for her trademark blonde braid, generated new controversy this week after she was heard in a recorded telephone conversation using expletives and a derogatory term for Russians, and saying that Russia should be destroyed for its invasion and annexation of Crimea.Ms. Tymoshenko, who is known for her trademark blonde braid, generated new controversy this week after she was heard in a recorded telephone conversation using expletives and a derogatory term for Russians, and saying that Russia should be destroyed for its invasion and annexation of Crimea.
“I am hoping that I will use all of my connections and will get the whole world to rise up so that not even scorched earth would be left of Russia,” Ms. Tymoshenko said in the call, which was posted on YouTube.“I am hoping that I will use all of my connections and will get the whole world to rise up so that not even scorched earth would be left of Russia,” Ms. Tymoshenko said in the call, which was posted on YouTube.
Similar calls, believed to have been recorded by Russian intelligence services, have also been posted on YouTube, including one between an American assistant secretary of state, Victoria Nuland, and the American ambassador in Kiev, Geoffrey R. Pyatt.Similar calls, believed to have been recorded by Russian intelligence services, have also been posted on YouTube, including one between an American assistant secretary of state, Victoria Nuland, and the American ambassador in Kiev, Geoffrey R. Pyatt.
Ms. Tymoshenko, writing on Twitter, suggested that some of the conversation was altered but appeared to confirm the general contents, and apologized for using expletives.Ms. Tymoshenko, writing on Twitter, suggested that some of the conversation was altered but appeared to confirm the general contents, and apologized for using expletives.
Since Mr. Yanukovych’s ouster, which the Kremlin has denounced as a coup supported by the West, the Fatherland party has had a strong grip on the new provisional government.Since Mr. Yanukovych’s ouster, which the Kremlin has denounced as a coup supported by the West, the Fatherland party has had a strong grip on the new provisional government.
Both the acting president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, and the acting prime minister, Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, are leading members of Fatherland. The party voted at a conference last year to nominate Ms. Tymoshenko as its candidate for president should she be able to run. At that point, elections were scheduled for early 2015. The Parliament has since moved the elections to May.Both the acting president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, and the acting prime minister, Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, are leading members of Fatherland. The party voted at a conference last year to nominate Ms. Tymoshenko as its candidate for president should she be able to run. At that point, elections were scheduled for early 2015. The Parliament has since moved the elections to May.