Ukrainian Parliament Votes To Oust President, Tymoshenko Released From Jail

Ukraine's parliament has voted to dismiss President Viktor Yanukovych and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has been released from jail. Lawmakers voted on February 22 to hold early presidential elections on May 25, stating that Yanukovych had failed to properly fulfil his duties as president. The vote came after Yanukovych said in an interview with a Ukrainian TV station that he does not plan to resign, and that all decisions taken by parliament are illegal. He described recent events in Ukraine as "vandalism, banditry, and a coup," adding that he does not plan to resign. Yanukovych's comments come after antigovernment protesters in Kyiv seized the presidential administration office. Meanwhile, Tymoshenko has arrived in Kyiv after being released from a prison hospital in the eastern city of Kharkiv A few hours previously, parliamentary lawmakers had voted to release the jailed former prime minister. Altogether, 322 of the 331 deputies present in the 450-seat chamber voted in favor of the resolution.

http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-parliament-tymoshenko-release/25273412.html