Ukraine's new President Viktor Yushchenko nominated radical opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko as the country's acting prime minister on Monday, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported.

Yushchenko announced the nomination before leaving on a one-day trip to Moscow, the Presidential Press Service was cited as saying. The nomination must secure parliamentary approval.

Tymoshenko, 44, the leader of a small parliamentary bloc with nationalist-leaning members, assumed power as former deputy prime minister during Yushchenko's term as prime minister in 2000-2001.

She was a key figure in supporting Yushchenko in a disputed presidential run-off on Nov. 21, 2004.