Ukraine rivals clash in TV debate

There are two Viktors, but only one can win on Sunday

Ukraine's two main presidential candidates have clashed in a live TV debate ahead of Sunday's run-off vote.

Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko traded bitter accusations as they argued over a number of key issues.

The poll will decide whether Ukraine moves closer to the West - as Mr Yushchenko wants - or towards Moscow, under Mr Yanukovych, experts say.

OSCE observers had said the first round failed to meet international standards.

This is not a conflict between two Viktors. But a conflict between two world views, two moral systems Viktor Yushchenko opposition leader

The campaign has been marred by claims of media bias, intimidation by the authorities and even an alleged assassination attempt, correspondents say.

Mr Yushchenko won 39.87% of the vote against Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's 39.32% in the first round on 31 October.

Personal attacks

The format of the first and only televised debate between the two rivals envisaged a face-to-face discussion over Ukraine's economy, social policies and also the country's foreign and domestic policies.

You and your team are bankrupt functionaries who got together to return to power. For you, all power is criminal unless it is yours Viktor Yanukovych prime minister

However, both opponents used the chance to lash out at each other with accusations of corruption and incompetence during the nearly two-hour debate.

Mr Yanukovych, who is backed by outgoing President Leonid Kuchma and also Russia, mocked his rival's calls for a war on corruption, instead accusing Mr Yushchenko of impoverishing Ukraine during his term as prime-minister in 1999-2001.

"You and your team are bankrupt functionaries who got together to return to power. For you, all power is criminal unless it is yours," Mr Yanukovych said.

"The new leadership is already here, it will not leave and there is no way to expel it," he said.

In response, Western-leaning Mr Yushchenko condemned the "destructive economic policies" of the current authorities, which he claimed controlled "the shadow economy" and served the interests of only a handful of wealthy businessmen.

"This is not a conflict between two Viktors. But a conflict between two world views, two moral systems," Mr Yushchenko, who still bore marks from the mysterious poison-related illness, which scarred part of his face, said.

"We have a choice: either we live as criminals or as free, wealthy people," Mr Yushchenko said, using a prison slang in a veiled reference to Mr Yanukovych's time spent in jail for convictions which were later quashed.

Experts say that neither of the two candidates are likely to win any new converts after the debate, and have simply reinforced their own electorates before the 21 November run-off.

"The debate has had absolutely no affect on my own and my friends' voting preferences," Olexander, a computer programmer, told the BBC News.

His words were echoed by another voter, Galyna, who said that she "has not changed her mind" after the debate.