Ukraine's parliament on Friday confirmed former opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich as prime minister by a majority of 271 MPs out of a total 296 lawmakers present, DPA reported. The pro-Russian Yanukovich, who already held the post from 2002 to 2004, represents the interests of heavy industry in the east of the country. Due to recent changes to the Ukrainian constitution, he is the first-ever Ukrainian prime minister picked by parliament rather than the president. Yanukovich, in a statement to the legislature prior to the vote, said he would work towards national stability and unity rather than his own partisan goals. Yanukovich is head of the Donbass-based Regions Ukraine political party, parliament's largest. Regions' support is greatest in Ukraine's Russian-speaking eastern and southern provinces.
