Ukraine kicks off new presidential campaign

Yushchenko, in Vienna where physicians said the mystery pre-election illness that dramatically disfigured his face had been caused as a result of ingesting poison, was shown on Ukrainian television saying he was "very happy to be alive in this world today."

Amid speculation that the attempt to poison Yushchenko had been intended to kill him, as he has insisted, a senior European envoy was arriving in Kiev to check on the chances of the country holding a fair vote December 26.

But there was no immediate information on whom the Council of Europe's Secretary General Terry Davis would meet amid struggles between Europe and Russia over influence in a country that has served in the past decade as a bridge between Moscow and the West.

Kiev itself was calm Sunday morning as hundreds of opposition demonstrators camped out in khaki tents in the capital, some chopping up wood for open fires to keep themselves warm, others sketching caricatures of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

And though officials were saying nothing, everywhere on the streets there was talk of Saturday's report of dioxin poisoning from the Austrian doctor who said Yushchenko's face had been disfigured so suddenly because he probably ingested the chemical in his food.

"Everyone knew that he was poisoned. Now even more people will vote for him," said Taras, a 22-year-old from a region in western Ukraine that supports the opposition.

"The ruling elite has once again proven its criminal methods," agreed pensioner Vira Tikhonova as she strolled down Khreshatik, the main cobble-stoned thoroughfare, lined with imposing buildings, through the Ukrainian capital and now the meeting point of debate over Ukraine's new path.