Ukraine's parliament yesterday sacked its reformist Prime Minister, Mr Viktor Yushchenko, in a no-confidence vote that triggered street protests in the capital, Kiev.
Mr Yushchenko, feted by the West for attacking corruption and mismanagement, told angry crowds he would continue his struggle outside government. Mr Yushchenko (47), regularly tops opinion polls as the most popular leader in the country - yet he was rejected by 263 out of 332 MPs who voted.
With his ousting, parliament appears to have turned its back on reform, and Western diplomats say they expect this former Soviet republic to move back into the orbit of its larger neighbour Russia.
The no-confidence motion follows six months of street protests triggered by allegations that the President, Mr Leonid Kuchma, rigged elections and conspired to murder a journalist whose dismembered body was found rotting in a forest.
Yesterday, Ukraine escaped from becoming the first nation ever expelled by the Council of Europe, Europe's top human rights body. With elections due early next year, many expect Mr Yushchenko to rally opposition forces around the country: "This is not the end for him," said Vadim Dubnov, Ukraine specialist in Moscow's New Times magazine.