Procurando minha galera: Candidates Picked for Ukraine Government Protest Leaders Pick Candidates for New Ukraine Government

Candidates Picked for Ukraine Government Protest Leaders Pick Candidates for New Ukraine Government

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Protest leaders picked Arseniy Yatdsenyuk, above, as prime minister.

Candidates Picked for Ukraine Government

Protest leaders tapped civic activists for a "government of national unity," moving to stave off criticism that veteran politicians were maneuvering to retake power following last week's ouster of Russia-backed President Viktor Yanukovych. 6:14 PM

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Protest Leaders Pick Candidates for New Ukraine Government

Parliament Will Vote on Cabinet Choices on Thursday

By
James Marson

Updated Feb. 26, 2014 4:14 p.m. ET

Ukraine's protest leaders tapped Arseniy Yatdsenyuk, above, as a proposed prime minister Wednesday. Eeuropean Pressphoto Agency

KIEV, Ukraine—Protest leaders tapped civic activists for a "government of national unity," moving to stave off criticism that veteran politicians were maneuvering to retake power following last week's ouster of Russia-backed President Viktor Yanukovych.

Candidates for Ukraine's new government—including the owner of an auto-repair shop and a journalist—on which Parliament will vote Thursday, were presented to a mix of cheers and boos among thousands of people at a "national assembly" on Kiev's main square, the center of three months of protests that saw at least 80 killed.

Reporters' Photos From Ukraine.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk, a 40-year-old former economy minister and leader of the Fatherland party, was proposed as prime minister.

His government, if confirmed, will face severe challenges, underlined Wednesday when the national currency, the hryvnia, fell to multiyear lows of more than 10 to the dollar. Ukraine's foreign-currency reserves have dropped to $15 billion, and the interim government has said it would put together a program of overhauls to secure a loan program from the International Monetary Fund as quickly as possible.

Russia, which backed Mr. Yanukovych with a $15 billion bailout offer in December, has indicated it is unlikely to hand over any more cash.

"We need to renew trust in the government. The government needs to return the trust of creditors and investors," Parliamentary Speaker and Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov told the crowd.

The new government will also have to face down anger in pro-Russian regions of the country, including the southern Crimean peninsula, where hundreds of supporters of greater autonomy and closer ties with Russia clashed with Crimean Tatars, who strongly support an independent Ukraine.

The new government may not last long. Not only does it face huge challenges, but it also will likely be reformatted after presidential elections in May. The president and Parliament share responsibility for naming ministers.

Ukrainians attended a mass meeting in Independence Square in Kiev Wednesday. European Pressphoto Agency

"Whoever joins the cabinet, it will be a kamikaze government. They have to deal with such a mess, and take unpopular steps," said Vasyl Yariv, a business coach who was on the square.

Many posts in the proposed government went to activists and civic leaders who have led protests since late last year.

Demonstrations began after the government shelved a partnership deal with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia, but swiftly grew into a broader outcry against corruption and police abuses.

In a nod to those demands, muckraking journalist Tetyana Chornovol, who has investigated top politicians, was proposed as head of an anticorruption bureau, with unclear powers.
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Dmytro Bulatov, the leader of a group of car owners who led protest convoys, was put forward as minister for youth and sport.

Mr. Bulatov appeared on stage Wednesday missing part of his ear, which he says was severed when he was tortured after being kidnapped in January by a group of unknown men.

Olha Bohomolets, a doctor who helped coordinate the medical center, could become deputy prime minister for humanitarian affairs.

"I want to promise you that if in this government I see corrupt schemes, I'll come onto the Maidan and coordinate the medical center again," she said, referring to the protest square.

The planned government will also contain some old hands, such as former Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk as Deputy Prime Minister for European integration.

Andriy Parubiy, a lawmaker and security chief for the protesters, would head the National Security and Defense Council.

Other proposed ministers include the protesters' chief medic, Oleh Musiy, as health chief and Serhiy Kvit, a Kiev university rector, at education.

In a surprise move, there were no places in the government for allies of boxer-turned-politician Vitali Klitschko, a top opposition leader.

The absence reflects rising tension in recent days among parties who led the protest, but whose leaders are now expected to run for president.

Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, leader of the Fatherland party who was released from jail Saturday, is expected to run after receiving treatment in Germany for a back ailment.

Mr. Yanukovych's Party of Regions, which has distanced itself from the former leader, has said it would go into opposition.

Ukrainian law-enforcement officials gave no indication Wednesday that they were any closer to snaring Mr. Yanukovych, who is wanted for mass murder. He is believed to be in Crimea, although rumors continue to place him in places including a Moscow suburb and Mount Athos in Greece.

Some protesters handed out leaflets saying they won't leave the square until Mr. Yanukovych is caught and political and constitutional overhauls are complete.

Acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov signed an order Wednesday dissolving the feared Berkut,—a special antiriot unit of the police that had been blamed for some of the worst abuses during a wave of violence this month.

"The Berkut are no more," Mr. Avakov wrote on his Facebook page early Wednesday morning.

He said he had signed a special decree disbanding the unit on Tuesday. Mr. Avakov had also announced on Tuesday that he had dismissed several top police officials and had appointed a special commission to investigate police misconduct and the abuse of authority during the violence that rocked the capital last week.

—Alexander Kolyandr
and Lukas I. Alpert
contributed to this article.

Write to James Marson at james.marson@wsj.com
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