Yuschenko Projected Winner in the Ukraine

Exit polls are pointing towards a victory for Viktor Yuschenko and his democratic supporters:

All three exit polls tracking Sunday's presidential rematch in Ukraine projected opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko as the winner by a large margin over Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

The vote is momentous for Ukraine, a nation of 48 million people caught between an eastward-expanding European Union and NATO, and an increasingly assertive Russia, its former imperial and Soviet-era master.

Opposition candidate Yushchenko, a former Central Bank chief and prime minister, wants to bring Ukraine closer to the West, while the Kremlin-backed Yanukovych, the current prime minister, emphasizes tightening the Slavic country's ties with Russia as a means to maintaining stability.

I'm still dubious about exit polling. As we saw in the U.S. election, the exit polls, which showed a substantial lead for John Kerry, didn't even come close to predicting what actually happened. The Ukraine's situation is even more complicated as its election system contained copious amounts of fraud last month, so one cannot get an accurate view of things until all the votes are counted. So far this is good news, but it isn't over yet.

UPDATE:

The NY Times is reporting that with 70% of the vote in, Yuschenko is leading 55% to 40% over Yanukovich. This is oustanding news! Yuschenko addressed his supporters:

"It has happened," said Mr. Yushchenko, his face still disfigured from dioxin poisoning this fall for which he has blamed his adversaries in the government. "Today we are turning a page of lies, censorship and violence." Ahead, he said, lay a "new epoch of a new great democracy."

That's right sir, you exposed corruption with truth an your path to democracy has begun. Here is a word of advice to you as you set out to reshape your country--do not put Kofi Annan on speed dial. He is not your friend. He will only try and convince you to get back together with your old girlfriend, Russia. Don't Poland and the Czech Republic look much hotter in their new digs anyway?

UPDATE II:

Looks like Ace got to the above picture before I did. Dammit! Ace, you have feverishly honed your skills in trying to keep up with Instapundit.