Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, whose government was dismissed by parliament on Wednesday, will take a leave of absence, handing duties to her first deputy, Oleksandr Turchynov, a Ukrainian news agency reported.
Unian quoted unnamed sources as saying Turchynov would be acting prime minister until a new government was formed.
A deputy head of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc said earlier in the day the party would move into the opposition without waiting until a new parliamentary majority is formed.
A total of 243 members of the 450-seat legislature voted to oust the Tymoshenko government, improving the chances of President Viktor Yanukovych's Party of Regions to form the parliamentary majority he needs to push through his policies.
Tymoshenko lost the February 7 presidential runoff, securing 3.5% less than her arch rival Yanukovych, who was sworn in as president on February 25.
Just hours before adopting the parliamentary resolution, his allies renewed attacks on Tymoshenko, accusing her cabinet of reckless decisions which had harmed the national economy.
Wednesday's vote, in which Yanukovych's 172 MPs were backed by seven "defectors" from Tymoshenko's party and 15 members of the party led by former President Viktor Yushchenko, showed the new leader and his allies, including communists and a group led by Rada Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, have a good chance of building a new coalition.
However, experts have predicted that Yanukovych will have a hard time handling any coalition of political rivals. They say he will have to compromise on some key issues, including the nomination of a new prime minister.
KIEV, March 3 (RIA Novosti)
