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 Yatseniuk, a key interlocutor of the West during much of the
turmoil in the country since November, announced he was quitting on
Thursday, saying parliament was betraying the people's demands for
change by failing to pass legislation.
The move by an ally of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko could
hamstring decision-making as Ukraine struggles to fund a war against
pro-Russian rebels and deals with the aftermath of a passenger plane
crash.
Oleksander Turchinov, speaker of the parliament, said Yatseniuk's
letter of resignation had been sent from government but had yet to
be received by parliament.
An aide to President Petro Poroshenko, Oleksander Danilyuk, said the
resignation should not hurt what Kiev calls its "anti-terrorist
operation" against rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Artillery fire echoed around the rebel stronghold of Donetsk on
Friday for the third day, as rebels fortified defenses and Ukrainian
troops moved to squeeze them further.
Local health officials said 14 people had been killed in the last 24
hours In the Donetsk region.
Kiev said it had taken the town of Lysychansk, northwest of the
second separatist bastion of Luhansk.
A spokesman for Ukraine's Security Council said 13 soldiers had been
killed in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 325
since the start of fighting against the rebels who say they want
independence for the Donbass region.
PERSONAL ANIMOSITIES
The usually mild-mannered Yatseniuk bellowed at lawmakers before
tendering his resignation on Thursday, saying politicians had failed
to pass laws to take control over an increasingly precarious energy
situation and to increase army funding.
"History will not forgive us," he said, telling politicians they
were at risk of losing the hearts and minds of Ukrainians who had
protested for months in the "Maidan" demonstrations in favor of
joining Europe and against a pro-Russian president.
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He may also have been angered by a move by two other members of the
parliamentary coalition to leave the ruling coalition, forcing new
elections to a parliament that has kept the same make-up since
before the toppling of Viktor Yanukovich.
Ukraine's complex political landscape has become a battlefield since
the toppling of Yanukovich, with members of the pro-Western former
opposition often unable to overcome personal animosities to present
a united front.
Yatseniuk is a member of the Batkivshchyna party led by Tymoshenko,
whom Poroshenko easily defeated in a presidential election in May
despite her high hopes of finally taking the top position. She had
been imprisoned under Yanukovich.
Some pro-Russian analysts have suggested that she is keen to
undermine her rival Poroshenko, but others note her party's ratings
have fallen since last year and its position as the biggest force in
parliament could be weakened in any early election.
Ukraine's most popular political group is now the populist Radical
Party, led by Oleh Lyashko.
(Reporting by Natalia Zinets, writing by Elizabeth Piper, editing by
Timothy Heritage and Paul Taylor)
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