Supporters of opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko expanded a campaign to spread their so-called Orange Revolution beyond Ukraine's capital Tuesday, organizing a convoy that will visit 15 cities in the coming days — including in eastern provinces that have been hostile to the candidate. More than 50 supporters of the Pora (It's Time) youth movement will head to the pro-Russian eastern provinces, hoping to win over voters in areas where support for Yushchenko's Kremlin-backed opponent, Viktor Yanukovych, has been strong.
Yushchenko and Yanukovych face off for the presidency in a Dec. 26 contest ordered by the Supreme Court after the their Nov. 21 runoff was voided by the Supreme Court because of massive fraud. Yushchenko's supporters massed in the streets by the tens of thousands following the runoff, wearing the opposition's trademark orange color. The "friendship journey" is part of a campaign that been roiled by the explosive confirmation from an Austrian clinic over the weekend that Yushchenko had been poisoned by dioxin. Prosecutors and a parliamentary committee quickly set up investigations _ the second time each has examined the poisoning incident _ and officials close to the Ukrainian leadership took charge of both. |