Ukraine interim PM urges people to vote

Ukraine’s interim Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk has called on people to take part in the presidential election that would be a victory against Russian aggression.

Yatseniuk said in a statement on Saturday that people should participate in election on Sunday for the future of their children.

He also told Ukrainians in the eastern regions that “bandits won’t be terrorizing your area for much longer.”

Yatseniuk took power in February following the ouster of former president Viktor Yanukovych following months of anti-government demonstrations in the country.

The interim Premier said he was sure the winner of the election would make a priority of signing up to a closer alliance with the EU, the move refused by former president last year in favor of closer ties with Russia.

“We will definitely have a legitimately elected president who will make his first visit to the capital of united Europe and sign the document on a free trade zone with the European Union,” he also said.

Yatseniuk added that the new president would receive a mandate from people “for a determined and unstoppable movement away from the grey zone of lawlessness and dark forces that dream of suffocating us.”

According to opinion polls, Petro Poroshenko, a former government minister, who supported pro-west protests might win the election.

Ukraine has experienced a fresh wave of unrest since Kiev’s interim government launched military operations in mid-April in the country’s southeastern regions in a bid to root out pro-Russia demonstrations.