KIEV, Ukraine
The Verkhovna Rada - Ukraine's parliament - voted unanimously on Saturday to impeach embattled President Viktor Yanukovych and set early presidential elections for May 25.
Under newly appointed parliamentary speaker, Oleksandr Turchynov, the parliament approved a bill to “remove Viktor Yanukovych as president of Ukraine” and to hold early elections.
Yanukovych's Part of Regions was largely absent from the vote as 98 of its 134 deputies were either not present or refused to vote.
The decision came shortly after presidential aide Ganna German said that Yanukovych would reject the parliament’s decisions.
German said Yanukovych had left Kiev to attend a conference in the eastern city of Kharkiv, on the Russian border.
In a taped interview shown on national television, Yanukovych described the events in Kiev as a "coup" and reiterated his status as the democratically elected president of the country.
Meanwhile protesters seized Yanukovich's Kiev office earlier on Saturday after it was abandoned by police.
An Anadolu Agency reporter at the scene said if felt like police had completely abandoned the capital city, leaving it to the protesters.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement that "police were at the service of the people and completely shared its desire for rapid changes."
Earlier in the day, Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Vasylyovyvch Rybak resigned, citing poor health.
The parliament chose Oleksandr Turchynov of the opposition Fatherland Party - a close ally of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko - as the new speaker.
Her daughter - Yevgenia Tymoshenko - on the party's website announced Saturday that Tymoshenko had been freed and she was on her way to meet her in Kharkiv.
Tymoshenko was arrested in 2011 on charges of abuse of office, but on Friday parliament voted to decriminalize the charges on which she had been convicted.
She is an arch-rival of Yanukovych and the charges were widely seen as a case of political revenge.
The government and opposition leaders announced an agreement Friday designed to end mass anti-government protests that broke out in November 2013 after Yanukovych rejected a trade pact with the European Union amid alleged pressure from Moscow.
Opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko faced boos when he returned to Independence Square to address protesters hours after signing the deal.
Protesters condemned Klitschko for shaking hands with Yanukovich, over which Klitschko expressed his apologies.
Klitschko's address was interrupted by a protester from the Right Sector who took to the stage and demanded Yanukovych's resignation by 08.00 a.m. GMT Saturday.
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