Ukraine crisis: PM Yatsenyuk survives no-confidence vote

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s government has survived a no-confidence vote hours after the president asked him to step down.

The prime minister has been criticised over the slow pace of reforms and faces allegations of corruption.

Earlier, President Petro Poroshenko said the PM had lost the support of the coalition and the country’s trust.

Yatsenyuk’s public support has eroded amid Ukraine’s economic problems.

The no-confidence motion required 226 votes to pass in parliament, but only 194 out of the 339 MPs supported it.

This means the government will probably be safe at least until the next parliament session starts in September.

The decision came moments after lawmakers voted the cabinet’s work in 2015 unsatisfactory.

In a passionate speech to parliament earlier, Yatsenyuk said his government, which is backed by Western countries, had done all it could under difficult circumstances. “We have built the foundations for a new country. Let’s build a new Ukraine: do not stop. Reforms are the only way forward,” he said.

Hundreds of demonstrators had gathered outside parliament in Kiev during Tuesday’s session to protest against government policies.

A former speaker of parliament and foreign minister, Yatsenyuk was one of the main opposition leaders during the massive protests that removed former pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014.

Only two weeks after Yatsenyuk took up his post, Russia annexed Crimea and, soon after, a violent pro-Moscow insurgency raged in the industrial east, where a one year-old ceasefire agreement has failed to stop the conflict.

On the economy, despite being credited with helping negotiate a rescue package with Western countries, there has been growing public discontent with the lack of progress.

Recent opinion polls suggest that support for Yatsenyuk’s bloc is at 1%.

Yatsenyuk has promised to tackle corruption, but has become the focus of similar accusations, although no concrete evidence has emerged.

He has also faced infighting, which culminated with Poroshenko’s call for his resignation on Tuesday. The president said “surgical means” were needed to restore trust.

Poroshenko heads Ukraine’s largest party, and Yatsenyuk the next largest, and both are in the ruling coalition.

Western governments have previously expressed concern over the resignation of reform-minded figures.