The Ukrainian parliamentary coalition appears to be falling apart with the sudden resignation of the prime minister and new elections are likely. This is not a good time for political turmoil.
Ukrainian prime minister Arseny Yatseniuk resigns Yatseniuk quits as he berates parliament for failing to pass law taking control of energy sector as Russian gas supply dwindles
Ukraine's prime minister has tendered his resignation, berating parliament for failing to pass legislation to take control over the country's increasingly precarious energy situation and to increase army financing.
Earlier on Thursday two parties quit a parliamentary coalition, a move that opened the way for a new election to clear what a politician called "Moscow agents" from the chamber, a decision welcomed by the president, Petro Poroshenko.
The resignation of the prime minister, Arseny Yatseniuk, could leave a hole at the heart of decision-making when Ukraine is struggling to fund a war with pro-Russia rebels in its east and dealing with the aftermath of a plane crash that killed 298 people.
The usually mild-mannered Yatseniuk bellowed at politicians who had failed to pass a law to allow a liberalisation of control over Ukraine's pipeline system.
He said Ukraine's politicians were at risk of losing the hearts and minds of the thousands who protested for months in the "Maidan" protests in favour of joining Europe and against a pro-Moscow president.
This is a pattern that has been the history of Ukrainian politics ever since the country separated from the USSR. They have never achieved anything approaching consensus and political stability. It doesn't look like their recent upheavals have changed much.