Ukraine's Tymoshenko targets president

KIEV, Ukraine, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Opposition parties in Ukraine will "help" President Viktor Yanukovych leave office "swiftly and constitutionally," said a former prime minister.

Opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is defending herself against charges she misused federal money meant for environmental projects to pay for pension funds during her tenure as prime minister.

Tymoshenko was one of the leaders of the Orange Revolution in 2004 and launched a bruising presidential bid against Yanukovych in 2010.

The opposition leader in statements published on her Web site said the Yanukovych name was soiled in Ukraine.

"He will swiftly and constitutionally be removed from office, and we, together, will help him in this," her statement read.

She claimed many of her opposition allies were in the process of joining forces in order to put pressure on the Yanukovych government.

"My political team and I are working on bringing people together and working out a clear plan how to constitutionally remove this government," she declared.

Yanukovych opponents accuse his government of moving too close to Kiev's former patrons in the Kremlin.

Critics said Kiev is trying to divert attention from an unpopular move on pension reform by targeting Tymoshenko.