A major conflagration brewing.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk approved as Ukraine’s new prime minister
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Feb. 26, 2014: Supporters cheer a candidate for Ukraine’s new Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, in Kiev’s Independence Square, or Maydan, the epicenter of recent deadly clashes with riot police, Ukraine. (AP)
Ukraine’s parliament has approved Arseniy Yatsenyuk as the country’s new prime minister.
The vote was held Thursday amid the sharp rise in tensions in the southern Crimea region, where gunmen seized local government buildings and raised a Russian flag.
The 39-year-old Yatsenyuk has previously served as the economy minister and foreign minister, and a speaker of parliament.
He was approved by 371 votes in the 450-member parliament.
Russia sent fighter jets to patrol the border with Ukraine, reportedly gave shelter to the country’s fugitive president and stood by as pro-Russian gunmen stormed the offices.