the West is certain to further irk the Kremlin, which had strongly supported Yanukovych.
Yushchenko soundly won the court-ordered presidential revote, but Yanukovych has refused to recognize the results, vowing to challenge the results in the Supreme Court. His resignation during a New Year's Eve address to the nation came as his first significant concession since Sunday's vote.
"We are still fighting, but I don't have much hope," Yanukovych said. "I will act as an independent politician, as the rightful winner of the legitimate Nov. 21 election."
Yanukovych claimed victory in that vote, but hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians flooded Kiev's streets to protest against massive fraud. After weeks of protests dubbed the "Orange Revolution" because of Yushchenko's campaign color, the court ruled that the election was corrupted, annulled Yanukovych's victorymust formally accept Yanukovych's resignation and appoint a new government within 60 days - though he is likely to appoint a caretaker until a new president is inaugurated.
Yuriy Kliuchkovskiy, lawmaker and Yushchenko's ally, called Yanukovych's decision an acknowledgment that his position is "hopeless."
"There is his pride. He didn't want to submit his resignation documents to newly elected President Yushchenko, he decided to submit them to President Kuchma," he said.
Meanwhile, Saakashvili, who was catapulted to power last year in a bloodless revolution that inspired the Ukrainian opposition, made his first stop in Kiev at the opposition's tent camp on Kiev's tree-lined main street. He has displayed his support for Yushchenko by regularly wearing an orange tie.

KIEV, Ukraine - Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych resigned Friday and grudgingly admitted he has