Ukraine braces for heated vote as Russia, West watches anxiously

Hundreds of thousands of pro-Western and pro-Russian activists mobilized across Ukraine as the former Soviet republic headed into a stormy weekend vote that Washington warned would spark unspecified "measures" if rigged by the state. Both sides braced for a night of violence following the vote Sunday as this nation of 50 million picks a successor to President Leonid Kuchma -- a leader who over his decade-long term sided with Moscow. Kuchma has entrusted his chosen successor, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, to stay the same course. But the opposition has sensed that Sunday offered an unprecedented chance to finally open up Ukraine to Europe and secure protection from Russia by the US-led NATO alliance. Their candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, is running neck-and-neck with the prime minister despite blanket state media coverage for Yanukovich and nationwide police crackdowns against pro-Western and anti-Russian rallies. A victory by Yushchenko could initiate the transformation of Ukraine from a bridge between Moscow and the West into a member of the European Union -- shifting liberal Europe's center of gravity closer to Russia's border. Yushchenko predicted victory Friday and his supporters organized a demonstration at Kiev's historic Independence Square opposite government headquarters for Monday morning that they say could see up to 600,000 people show up on the streets.