THE turmoil in Ukraine was threatening to plunge the West and Russia into a Cold War-style showdown last night as the United States dismissed out of hand the official results of Sunday’s presidential election.

Speaking as Ukraine’s election commission declared the Moscow-backed Prime Minister, Viktor Yanukovych, the winner, Colin Powell joined the European Union in vowing “consequences” unless the leaders of Ukraine moved swiftly to respect the will of its people.

“We cannot accept this result as legitimate,” said the US Secretary of State, raising the stakes in the election crisis that is increasingly pitting East against West.

Behind the scenes, US officials have warned Kiev that without a satisfactory resolution, Washington is ready to withold nearly $150 million in annual aid.

It would also slap visa restrictions and other sanctions on members of Ukraine’s political and economic elite — an issue that may cut ice with Leonid Kuchma, the outgoing President, who would face retirement without being able to travel to Western Europe or the United States.

Ukraine’s central election commission announced that Mr Yanukovych had beaten his pro-Western rival Viktor Yushchenko by 49.46 per cent to 46.61 per cent.

Mr Yushchenko promptly called for a national strike and said Ukraine was on the brink of civil conflict.

Even before the result, governments throughout the West were pursuing a frenzy of diplomatic activity designed to ensure that democratic justice was done in Ukraine while averting violence.

International election observers have accused Ukrainian authorities of conducting a ballot riddled with fraud.

President Putin of Russia made it clear that he would have no truck with European and American interference in what he considers Moscow’s sphere of influence.

The Kremlin said that any sanctions imposed by the West would be “counterproductive, only making the problem worse”. But the tensions and passions of a drama more evocative of the Soviet era than the 21st century are expected to dominate a summit in The Hague today where EU leaders will confront Mr Putin.

The impression that Europe was suddenly in the midst of a Cold War throwback was strengthened by a cast of characters from yesteryear. Heroes from the fall of the Iron Curtain, such as Lech Walesa and Vaclav Havel, emerged to take centre stage.

Mr Walesa, the founder and figurehead of the anti-communist Polish Solidarity movement who went on to win a Nobel peace prize, is to fly to Kiev today to try to mediate between the two sides.

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