UKRAINE’S Supreme court blocked the inauguration of the country’s Moscow-backed Prime Minister as President yesterday, boosting the hopes of opposition supporters as their protests galvanised into direct action.

The court’s decision gave the pro-Western opposition leader, Viktor Yushchenko, his first victory in his struggle to overturn the official results of last Sunday’s election which handed the presidency to Viktor Yanukovych.

“This is only the beginning. It is proof that it is society that always wins. It is small compensation for the suffering that we have endured,” Mr Yushchenko told a huge crowd of cheering supporters gathered in Independence Square, Kiev.

The court ruled that the results announced by the Central Election Commission on Wednesday could not be officially published until it reviewed an appeal from the opposition, which says the vote was rigged.

That, in effect, stalls the inauguration of Mr Yanukovych and leaves the outgoing President, Leonid Kuchma, in office until the issue is resolved. On Monday the court will hear Mr Yushchenko’s contention that the election was rigged.

The ruling was announced after Poland’s 1983 Nobel peace laureate, Lech Walesa, met both candidates to try to defuse a crisis that has pushed Ukraine to the brink of civil conflict and rekindled Cold War-style rivalry between Russia and the West.

In The Hague the stand-off dominated a Russia-EU summit, with President Putin telling EU leaders not to interfere in the election in Moscow’s backyard.

“I am deeply convinced that we have no moral right whatsoever to push a major European state towards mass mayhem,” he said after the summit, adding that the crisis should be resolved throught the courts.

Jan Peter Balkenende, the Dutch Prime Minister who chaired yesterday’s summit, said: “The elections did not meet the international standards and the European Union is not able to accept the results.”

Russia openly backed Mr Yanukovych during campaigning in a bid to keep Ukraine in its sphere of influence. The Prime Minister wants to introduce dual citizenship with Russia, make Russian an official language, and promote an economic union with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Western governments, meanwhile, have thrown their weight behind Mr Yushchenko, who advocates liberal economic reform and integration with the EU and Nato.

Britain joined other Western nations in refusing to recognise Mr Yanukovych’s win, while China sided with Russia and Belarus in declaring that Sunday’s poll was free and fair.

President Kwasniewski of Poland, alarmed at the prospect of instability on his borders, said he would go to Kiev today at the request of Mr Kuchma, to help to broker talks. Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign policy chief, is also going to Ukraine today to seek a “negotiated diplomatic solution”.

Tensions within Ukraine escalated further as thousands of Mr Yanukovych’s supporters — most of them miners from eastern Ukraine — held their first big rallies in Kiev.

The opposition also began its campaign of civil disobedience. Mr Yushchenko’s coalition partner, Yuliya Tymoshenko, urged supporters to blockade the government building and parliament. She said from today there would be moves to coordinate the blocking of highways to back a national strike.

The opposition leader’s campaign chief, Oleksander Zinchenko, said Mr Yushchenko had issued “decrees” on behalf of a newly created Committee for National Salvation to uphold public order.

Oleh Haiduk, the Deputy Economy Minister, became the first senior politician to resign over a vote that he said was turning his country into a European outcast. Orange opposition flags were seen flying from the Central Bank. Demonstrators cheered when a group of about 100 police cadets crossed the line and joined their ranks.

Mr Yushchenko made a passionate appeal to the military, which has so far stayed out of the crisis. “I want to say to you, we breathe one air, we have one country, and one Constitution,” he said.

Mr Yanukovych has agreed to negotiate with the opposition but only to hear their views and take their interests into account during his second term. The opposition is demanding that the vote results be annulled in several eastern regions or for a brand new election to be called.

Mr Walesa — an old friend of President Kuchma — tried to mediate between the two sides. He also addressed the crowds in Independence Square, earning deafening cheers as he conjured memories of his time as leader of the Solidarity movement that helped to topple Poland’s communist regime.

“The whole of my life I fought for ideals. The situation in Poland was probably more difficult than yours. When I look at your enthusiasm, your engagement, I’m sure it will end in your victory,” Mr Walesa told the crowds.

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