Ukraine Support Act the Yatsenyuk Government, as well as the appointment of a new Acting President of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said President Yanukovych was illegally impeached and that Russia continues to regard him as Ukraine’s legitimate president. Russia describes the Yatsenyk government as "self-proclaimed" and the events in Kiev as a "coup d'etat". Yanukovych supporters point out that not enough members of the parliament were present for the vote to reach the three-fourths majority required to impeach a President according to the Constitution of Ukraine. Beginning on February 26, pro-Russian forces gradually took control of the Crimean
Viktor Yanukovych Yanukovych first ran for president in 2004: he advanced to the runoff election, and initially defeated his opponent. However, the election was fraught with allegations of fraud and voter intimidation. This caused widespread citizen protests and Kyiv's Independence Square was occupied in what became known as the Orange Revolution. The Ukrainian Supreme Court nullified the runoff election, and ordered a second runoff. Yanukovych lost this second election to Viktor Yushchenko. He served as Prime Minister for a second time from 4 August 2006 to 18 December 2007, under President Yushchenko. Yanukovych was elected President in 2010, defeating Yulia Tymoshenko. The