UKRAINE’S opposition leader, Viktor Yushchenko, claimed victory early today in a re-run of a presidential election that has polarised the nation and rekindled Cold War-style rivalry between Russia and the West.

Mr Yushchenko told his supporters that Ukraine was turning over a new political page, after partial results projected him winning an easy victory over his opponent, Viktor Yanukovych, the Prime Minister.

Exit polls had predicted a crushing defeat for Mr Yanukovych, the pro-Russian Prime Minister, whose victory in last month’s flawed election was overturned amid opposition protests dubbed the “Orange Revolution”.

“Today, Ukraine is beginning a new political life I am aware of the extent of responsibility and I will be worthy of your trust,” Mr Yushchenko said at his campaign headquarters.

With ballots from just over 40 per cent of precincts counted, Mr Yushchenko was leading by 56.7 per cent to 39.5 per cent, election officials said. After the polls closed, tens of thousands of opposition supporters descended on Independence Square in Kiev, where they protested for two weeks after the previous vote. With fireworks bursting overhead, they celebrated the almost certain victory of their candidate.

In contrast, the streets of Mr Yanukovych’s power base, Donetsk, were largely empty.

“We can now move faster towards Europe. Ukraine will have democracy not just on paper but in reality,” said Volodya Geroseomenko, 32, a railway worker wrapped in an orange pro-Yushchenko cloak and waving an orange flag.

Last night, a dejected- looking Mr Yanukovych told reporters in Kiev that “if there is a defeat, there will be a strong opposition”. But he did not concede, saying, “I am ready to lead the State”, and hinted that he would challenge the results in the courts. He also ruled out any negotiations with Mr Yushchenko should he win.

The results reflected a dramatic geopolitical shift in this former Soviet republic of 48 million people sandwiched between the EU and an increasingly assertive Russia.

Mr Yushchenko, a Western-leaning former central banker, promises to lead Ukraine into the EU and Nato, while Mr Yanukovych, backed by the Kremlin, wants closer political and commercial ties with Moscow.

“I am sure that today will be a victory for Ukrainian democracy,” said Mr Yushchenko, 50, flanked by his American-born wife, Kateryna, as he cast his ballot. “What we did during the past 30 days was a tribute to our ancestors. I know they are looking at us from heaven and they are applauding.”

There will be no applause, however, from Vladimir Putin, Russia’s President, who backed Mr Yanukovych in the first two rounds and accused the West last week of fomenting unrest in Moscow’s back yard.

And Mr Yanukovych’s supporters in Russian-speaking, industrialised and Orthodox eastern Ukraine will be reluctant to accept a result that they fear subordinates them to the Ukrainian-speaking, agricultural and Catholic West.

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