Ukraine's Viktor Yanukovich was inaugurated as president and immediately promised to combat corruption, poverty, and restore political stability to regain foreign support for the struggling economy. The low-key ceremony reflected a contentious election, still disputed by his opponent, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and exposed deep divisions in the country. Despite this, Yanukovich's inauguration marked a comeback from the 2004 Orange Revolution, where mass protests overturned a rigged election in his favor. In his address after taking office, Yanukovich acknowledged Ukraine's significant challenges including debt, poverty, corruption, and economic collapse, and emphasized the need for a strategy for progress, developed by his team. He mentioned the lack of foreign investment in Ukraine and the unstable business environment, and emphasized the importance of restoring political stability, fighting corruption, and establishing clear regulations for state-business relationships to build trust with investors and international financial institutions. Ukraine's economy has been severely affected by the global economic downturn, leading to a decrease in exports and a significant devaluation of the currency. The country relies on a $16.4 billion IMF bailout program, which was temporarily suspended due to instability. The finance ministry announced that an IMF technical mission is scheduled to visit on April 7. This typically results in a thorough visit from IMF officials who will then determine whether to resume the program. Yanukovich, a former mechanic supported by wealthy industrialists, had a difficult childhood in eastern Ukraine and a criminal record in his youth. He is expected to improve relations with Russia, Ukraine's former Soviet ruler, following a period of estrangement under Viktor Yushchenko. He has suggested potential compromises with Moscow regarding the future of Russia's Black Sea fleet in Crimea and has proposed a consortium involving Russia to manage Ukraine's gas pipelines. However, he aims to renegotiate a decade-old agreement on Russian gas supplies negotiated by Tymoshenko and Vladimir Putin. He also stated that he intends to have a well-rounded foreign policy and has promised to work towards strengthening relationships with the European Union. During his speech on Thursday, he expressed that he is keeping all options available and wants to have "equal and mutually beneficial relationships" with Russia, the EU, and the United States, leading to the best outcomes for Ukraine. His website later confirmed that he will be traveling to Brussels next week, with the visit scheduled for Monday according to EU officials. Additionally, he plans to visit Moscow in the first 10 days of March, as announced by his Regions Party. Yanukovich defeated Prime Minister Tymoshenko by 3.5 percentage points, however, he only received the support of a third of the 37 million voters. The voting results revealed a clear division between Russian-speaking voters in the eastern and southern industrial regions who supported Yanukovich, and Ukrainian-speaking voters in the western and central areas who voted for Tymoshenko. Despite dropping her legal challenge to Yanukovich's election recently, Tymoshenko maintains that he was not rightfully elected. She and most of her parliamentary bloc boycotted the ceremony on Thursday, making it seem insincere. Despite Yanukovich's call for a competent executive power, Tymoshenko is still resisting efforts to remove her as prime minister, indicating ongoing political tension in the near future. She is working to rally her allies in parliament, while his party and its influential supporters are trying to weaken her coalition and form a new one. Creating a coalition involves complex negotiations and may take a considerable amount of time. If Yanukovich is unable to form a new coalition, he will have no choice but to reluctantly announce new parliamentary elections, leading to even more uncertainty.