Ukraine is braced for a nail-biting run-off between two old rivals in presidential elections after Sunday's first round vote eliminated discredited Orange Revolution hero President Viktor Yushchenko.
Exit polls forecast the election was led by pro-Russia politician Viktor Yanukovich, the man accused of rigging the 2004 elections which sparked the peaceful Orange Revolution uprising that swept the old order from power.
Second place was set to go to Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a former Orange Revolution comrade of Yushchenko who subsequently fell out with the president and adopted a more pragmatic tone on relations with Russia.
As Yanukovich failed to win a majority, the election will go to a second round on 7 February with all to play for between the two old foes who have savaged each other's reputation in the campaign.
The polls showed Yushchenko taking a miserable 6% of the vote, a reflection of Ukraine's frustration that the Orange Revolution failed to realise the dreams of those who protested in 2004.
Yanukovich is set to obtain 32% of the vote and Tymoshenko 27%, according to the initial results of an exit poll of Sunday's ballot.
Official results are due on Monday morning while turnout was 67%, the election commission said.
The second round promises to be a gloves-off affair and analysts have warned of the risk of the result being taken to the courts and even once more sparking street protests.
The 2004 Orange Revolution raised hopes of a new era free of Kremlin influence for the country of 46 million that would set a precedent for other former Soviet states.
But although Ukraine now boasts improved freedom of speech, steps to implement reform and end corruption were forgotten as government became paralysed in a bitter power struggle between Yushchenko and Tymoshenko.
Since 2004, Yanukovich has sought to reinvent himself with the help of Western PR strategists and to show he is not a servant of the Kremlin but a defender of Ukrainian interests.
He has also sought more support in the country's Ukrainian-speaking west - traditionally the heartland of Tymoshenko and Yushchenko supporters - while holding on to his powerbase in the Russian-speaking east.
