Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko sacked his government Thursday as the team which led the "Orange Revolution" less than a year ago broke apart amid infighting and accusations of mass graft.

Yushchenko told a news conference he would ask regional governor Yury Yekhanurov, 57, to form a new team.

But he sought not to alienate completely the charismatic Yulia Tymoshenko, a key figure in the mass protests late last year that propelled him to power and who until Thursday had been prime minister since his election in January.

"These people remain my friends. It is very difficult but today I must to remove this Gordian knot," Yushchenko said, accusing his outgoing government of lacking team spirit.

"I set one task for the new team - to work in a united team. I do not want any more the intrigues between two or three people that were determining the state policy."

He also accepted the resignation of close ally Petro Poroshenko from his powerful security post and suspended another aide - both of whom had been accused of involvement in graft.

In sacking Tymoshenko, whose fiery oratory brought thousands out on the streets in last December's pro-Western "Orange Revolution," Yushchenko moved decisively to end a crisis that has threatened his credibility.

Ukraine's state security (SBU) chief Oleksander Turchinov - another Yushchenko ally - also tendered his resignation.

The crisis follows months of tension between Yushchenko and Tymoshenko over Ukraine's economic direction and came to a head last Saturday when his chief of staff quit alleging deep corruption in the administration.

"We need to halt the disappointment in society and make sure that the ideals (of the Orange Revolution) are not cast into doubt," he said.

Yekhanurov, who was asked to form a new Ukrainian Government, said his major task would be to secure stability, the Ukrainska Pravda website www.pravda.com.ua reported.

Yekhanurov, governor of industrial Dnipropetrovsk region, is a long-time supporter of Yushchenko. He was deputy to Yushchenko while the latter was prime minister in 2000.

"My task is for the government members to continue their work and to ensure stability. It means I should form the government and work efficiently," he was quoted as saying during a trip to the Black Sea port of Odessa.

He is seen as a pro-reform technocrat and occupied various government posts under former President Kuchma.

The prime minister is set to acquire additional powers, at the expense of the president, from January when changes to the constitution come into force.

A simple majority of 266 votes in the 450-seat parliament is required to confirm Yekhanurov in his post. However, pro-Yushchenko forces do not have a stable parliamentary majority.

One of the officials who resigned - Nikolai Tomenko, a deputy prime minister - said he could no longer stand the corruption among the president's aides.

The other official resined was Olexander Turchinov, the head of Ukraine's SBU security service.

Source: China Daily