Russia hopes the February 7 Ukrainian presidential...

"We hope that the elections will be held without any events destabilizing the situation in the country," the source, who refused to be identified, told RIA Novosti.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is facing a presidential runoff against frontrunner Viktor Yanukovych, has threatened to call mass rallies over controversial amendments to the election law.

Tymoshenko, who co-led mass protests against rigged elections five years ago, said the changes, which introduced new rules for local election commissions, could allow poll fraud. She pledged on Thursday to call her supporters to join mass protests that would diminish even those of 2004 if she thought the polls were rigged.

Yanukovych, a foe of the "orange" camp, insisted the amendments are needed to prevent Tymoshenko from avoiding defeat at certain polling stations by telling her representatives not to turn up, therefore invalidating the vote. He said there would be no mass protests at Kiev"s central

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