Ukraine's top judges have ruled the results of the disputed presidential election are invalid and has called for a new vote.
Crowds of orange-clad opposition supporters, massed outside the court and throughout the centre of Kiev for a 12th day of protests, cheered as the ruling was announced. They contend last month's election was rigged.
The ruling is a boost to Western-oriented opposition candidate Mr Viktor Yushchenko in his struggle against Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, seen as pro-Moscow.
Court Chairman Anatoly Yarema, delivering the court's ruling after five days of deliberations, said a "repeat vote" was required. The court recommened a re-run of the second round of the ballot. It said it should take place three-week's from December 5th, meaning December 26th.
The court issued its verdict in response to an appeal by Mr Yushchenko, who asked it to cancel the official results of the runoff ballot, which he said had been rigged in favour of Mr Yanukovich. Mr Yushchenko has pushed for a quick rerun of the runoff.
He has rejected outgoing President Leonid Kuchma's call for a completely new election which was widely seen as a bid to field a new candidate more popular than Mr Yanukovich.
Mr Kuchma gained Russian President Vladimir Putin's backing against calls for a quick re-run of the last round of the disputed election the opposition is certain it would win.
The crisis, which has sparked a run on banks, has seen the parliament adopt a more aggressive role, passing motions to sack Mr Yanukovich and declare the election fraudulent.
Today, it voted to demand that Ukraine's 1,500 troops leave Iraq. Pulling out of Iraq was a campaign pledge by both candidates but the deployment was personally overseen by President Leonid Kuchma.
Although protests remained peaceful, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, who has mediated in the stand-off, said he feared an outbreak of violence as protesters became more tired, both physically and emotionally.
"A spontaneous or provoked flare-up is indeed possible and this is the biggest threat," he told Polish public radio. Both sides have agreed to wait for the verdict of the Supreme Court, which has been meeting all week.
Further international mediation efforts are scheduled to take place after the verdict. Lithuania's President Valdas Adamkus was due to arrive in Kiev tomorrow.
In a fresh sign of US concern at what it sees as Russian attempts to steer Ukraine toward a pro-Moscow candidate, US President George W. Bush said last night: "I think any election . . . ought to be free from any foreign influence."
Agencies