[JURIST] The Ukrainian parliament Wednesday narrowly approved a no-confidence motion in the government of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, the declared winner of last week's disputed presidential election, proposing instead a "government of national trust." The vote came on a second secret ballot after a first ballot failed; a similar measure had been proposed Tuesday, but the chamber had been adjourned before any vote could be taken. The no-confidence vote forces outgoing Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma to dismiss Yanukovych from his current position, deeping a political crisis which yesterday also saw opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko break off compromise negotiations with the Yanukovych campaign. Kuchma said Wednesday that he does not support a direct re-vote of the run-off to settle the dispute, suggesting instead that he would favor new elections with additional candidates. The Ukrainian Supreme Court meanwhile enters its third day of deliberations on the opposition appeal of the election result; some observers expect it could rule as early as Wednesday afternoon. Reuters has more; Scott Clark, a lawyer working as a consultant in Kyiv, offers this personal report on the vote on his weblog Foreign Notes.

8:22 AM ET – In the related developments, the Maidan Ukrainian activist website is reporting that in the wake of yesterday's cancellation of this Sunday's planned autonomy referendum in the pro-Yanukovych Donetsk region, the Donetsk Regional Council has passed a new resolution setting January 9th as the date of a referendum on “Lodgement of the region with the status of the self-dependent subject in the frame of a federation." Maidan has more.