minute debate was to include rebuttals for the first time. Terms were set by the Central Election Committee and the Yanukovich and Yuschenko camps. A wrinkle in the debate rules allows a candidate extra speaking time if his opponent refuses to answer a question. The politicians faced off once before in a televised debate in early November, but neither candidate was allowed to directly address his opponents' statements. Yanukovich is pitching himself to voters as a defender of the country's large Russian-speaking minority and - in spite of the fact he has been the country's prime minister for the last two years - an opponent of the Ukrainian government. Yuschenko's campaign depicts him as the leader of the country's "Orange Revolution," and as a Ukrainian patriot with high moral values. --SP 2339 Local Time 2039 GMT
