Delicate state of uncertainty

KIEV, Ukraine — With an ally claiming presidential powers Sunday and the whereabouts and legitimacy of the nominal president unclear, newly freed opposition icon Yulia Tymoshenko may feel her chance to take Ukraine’s leadership has come. But even among protesters who detest President Viktor Yanukovych, Tymoshenko sparks misgivings.

The former prime minister, who was convicted of abuse of office in a case widely seen as political revenge by her arch-foe Yanukovych, is a polarizing figure in a country staggering from political tensions that exploded into violence. Admired and by many, Tymoshenko is regarded by others as driven by intense ego and tainted with corruption.

Just a day after she left the hospital where she was imprisoned, demonstrators outside the Cabinet of Ministers expressed dismay that she could be Ukraine’s next president. One of them held a placard depicting Tymoshenko taking power from Yanukovych and reading, “People didn’t die for this.”

Ukraine is in a delicate state of uncertainty since Yanukovych and protest leaders signed an agreement to end the conflict that left more than 80 people dead last week in Kiev. Soon after signing it, Yanukovych’s whereabouts are unclear after he left the capital for his support base in eastern Ukraine. Allies are deserting him.

Russia’s next moves in the crisis were not immediately clear, but Washington warned Moscow not to intervene militarily.

The newly emboldened parliament, now dominated by the opposition, struggled to work out who is in charge of the country and its ailing economy.