Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko pledged yesterday to bring Ukraine into the EU within five years if she wins this weekend's presidential polls as she sought to highlight differences with her main rival.
In a keynote address in Kiev ahead of Sunday's vote, Ms Tymoshenko attempted to show Ukraine faces a stark choice between herself and her main opponent Viktor Yanukovich, who is leading the polls and seen as a pro-Russian figure.
"Ukraine must become a member of the European Union and for me that is a priority. I will do everything so that during my presidency Ukraine becomes a member of the EU," Ms Tymoshenko said.
She said an association agreement should be signed with the EU this year, as well as an accord on the creation of a free trade zone. Ukraine's presidential mandate is for five years.
The elections are taking place amid a severe economic crisis and public disillusionment with the results of the 2004 Orange Revolution, which ousted the old elite and was strongly supported by Ms Tymoshenko.
Opinion polls show Mr Yanukovich with a lead of around 10 per cent.
However with 18 candidates standing, a February 7 run-off is almost certain and analysts believe the prime minister still has a chance of making up ground by then.
Ms Tymoshenko has traditionally been seen as a pro-EU figure although the warmth of her relationship with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has led analysts to conclude she has drawn closer to Moscow.
Her former ally in the Orange Revolution, President Viktor Yushchenko, had also vowed to bring Ukraine into the EU but his plan fell apart amid chronic political instability and economic problems.
Ms Yushchenko is expected to be punished at the ballot box for the failure of the Orange Revolution to bring about major economic and political reform, falling at the first hurdle with a weak single-digit showing.
Ms Tymoshenko also launched a new attack on Ukraine's super-rich oligarchs, who own much of the country's industry and many of whom have close links to Yanukovich, vowing to "put them in their place."
"There are two paths. Strengthen the oligarchs, personified by Yanukovich. Or the other path - the creation of an independent state," she said.
Seeking to lay out a vision of Ukraine's future, Ms Tymoshenko said the country should create the most modern education system in Europe and ensure its energy independence.
The Prime Minister, wearing a cream dress and her voice hoarse from weeks of campaigning, took questions after her speech on video link from supporters ranging from miners to folk singers.
A day earlier, Ms Tymoshenko had accused Mr Yanukovich of seeking to organise election fraud from his powerbase in the east of the country. But he hit back yesterday with a bitter personal attack on his rival.
"This is her way of life. This is how she lives. We have got used to it," he said on a campaign visit to the northeastern city of Kharkiv, quoted by the website of his Regions Party.
Adding uncertainty to the situation, a new poll from a Russian research organisation showed Mr Yanukovich well ahead but with a lesser-known candidate pushing Ms Tymoshenko into third place.
Mr Yanukovich will poll 30.5 per cent of the vote while former economy minister and banking executive Sergiy Tigipko would win 14.4 per cent, compared with 13.9 for Ms Tymoshenko, the poll for the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre showed.
While Mr Tigipko may be benefiting from being a relatively fresh face, polls by other Ukraine-based organisations published over the New Year showed him posting a far weaker vote.