Pro-European Businessman Claims Victory in Ukraine Presidential Vote
DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
KIEV, Ukraine — Caught in a battle for influence between Russia and the West, Ukrainians elected Petro O. Poroshenko as president on Sunday, turning to a pro-European billionaire to lead them out of six months of turmoil.
The special election was called by Parliament to replace Viktor F. Yanukovych, who fled Kiev on Feb. 21 after a failed but bloody attempt to suppress a civic uprising, and whose toppling as president set off Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea.
While the election allows Ukraine to open a new chapter in its history, and even President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has indicated recently that he would accept the result, Mr. Poroshenko now faces the excruciatingly difficult task of trying to calm and reunite a country that has been on the edge of financial collapse, and on the verge of a civil war. Among his chief tasks will be to ease tensions with Russia.
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