Ukraine's president says early parliamentary elections will be held on December 7.

Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko during a televised address to the nation, 08 Oct 2008

President Viktor Yushchenko issued a decree Thursday setting the date for the vote, a day after he dissolved parliament because of disagreements on forming a new coalition.

The ruling coalition, made up of supporters of Mr. Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, collapsed last month after her supporters joined with the pro-Russian opposition to back legislation curbing presidential powers. Those were later repealed. The two leaders had also disagreed on how Ukraine should respond to Russia's military incursion into Georgia.

Mr. Yushchenko has criticized the prime minister for failing to condemn Russia's actions in Georgia. Ms. Tymoshenko has accused the president of antagonizing Russia. The two blame each other for the political deadlock.

Ms. Tymoshenko's supporters criticized the president's action as "unconstitutional."

The Ukrainian leaders were close allies during the 2004 Orange Revolution that brought the president to power. They have since disagreed, reconciled, and fallen out again.

The parliamentary vote will be the third in as many years.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.