NEW ATTITUDE

Pro-West Parties Win in Ukraine

Poroshenko thanks voters for backing democracy.

According to exit polls, pro-Europe parties led by a group backing President Petro Poroshenko came out well ahead in Ukraine’s general election on Sunday and will dominate parliament. Poroshenko’s bloc claimed 23 percent of the votes, ahead of his ally Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk’s party, which took 21.3 percent. A third pro-Europe party came in third place, but the biggest surprise may be a stronger than expected performance by a group representing the allies of ousted President Viktor Yanukovich. That group, called the Opposition Bloc, scored 7.6 percent of the vote, enough to put the party into parliament. About 3 million people in two eastern regions ravaged by conflict did not vote; pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk plan to hold their own polls next month.