Uncertainty in Ukraine after deadly political stand-off

Ukraine was plunged into new uncertainty after a deadly political standoff — as a top opposition figure assumed presidential powers.

The whereabouts and legitimacy of Viktor Yanukovych were still unclear after he left the capital for his support base in eastern Ukraine. Allies are deserting him, even as a presidential aide told Associated Press he’s hanging on to his presidential duties.

The newly emboldened parliament, now dominated by the opposition, struggled to work out who is in charge of the country and its ailing economy. Fears percolated that some regions such as the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea might try to break away. Three months of political crisis have left scores of people dead in a country of strategic importance to the United States, European nations and Russia.