Ukraine's opposition leaders have named ministers to form an interim government after ousted president Viktor Yanukovych fled Kiev. With a financial default ahead, and a Crimea torn between pro and anti-Russian demonstrators, the country's future seems uncertain.
Ukraine's new government is expected to be formally approved by parliament on Thursday. It will face the hugely complicated task of restoring stability in a country that is deeply divided politically and on the verge of financial collapse.
Topping the list will be seeking financial help from the European union and the International Monetary Fund.
Last year, the country's economic growth was virtually zero. Foreign debt exceeded GDP by 70 percent. And in January, unemployment climbed to 14 percent.
Ukrainian economist Andriy Novak said, "It doesn't matter where these aid packages come from, whether Russia or the West. What matters is how to use the money. If it's used in the same inefficient way, like the previous government did, then it wouldn't help Ukraine no matter how much aid we can get."
New government to seek balance between pro-Russia & pro-West powers
Another task for the new government is to seek a balance between pro-Russia and pro-West powers.
The opposition-nominated government is set to restart the initiative to join the EU, risking relations with the country's single-largest trade partner and oil provider, Russia.
And the divide is nowhere more evident than in the strategic Crimea region.
The peninsula in southern Ukraine is home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet and more than 1 million ethnic Russians, the majority in the region.
And after the political row erupted, Crimea seems to have less in common with the rest of the country than ever.
On Wednesday, they demonstrated for independence in the regional capital of Simferopol. They scuffled with rival demonstrators, mostly Crimean Tatars who've lived there for centuries.
One side is shouting "Crimea is Russian", while the other say it's Ukraine.
The biggest task of the new government will be to hold it all together.
