A man brings a rose to a memorial to the anti-government protesters killed during the past weeks' clashes with riot police in Kiev's Independence Square on Sunday. Ukraine's opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko said Sunday that she would not seek the post of prime minister in a new coalition government formed following the ouster of president Viktor Yanukovych. Photo: AFP

Ukraine has named pro-Western parliamentary speaker Oleksandr Turchynov interim president, a supporter of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko who was freed from jail Saturday.

Early elections have been called for May 25, following days of bloody protest in Kiev in which 88 people, mostly protesters, died.

Turchynov announced that lawmakers must form a new government by Tuesday.

President Viktor Yanukovych, whose luxury estate outside Kiev protesters seized Sunday, has fled, his whereabouts unknown.

Ukraine's border control service claimed that aides of Yanukovych tried to bribe border guards to let him flee the country on Saturday but he was prevented from leaving.

Yanukovych was seen on Saturday in a televised interview said to be recorded in East Ukraine, a region which is broadly pro-Russia. He claimed that he would not resign or leave the country and he was still in charge, calling the decisions by parliament "illegal," Reuters reported.

"The events witnessed by our country and the whole world are an example of a coup," he said, comparing it to the rise of the Nazis to power in Germany in the 1930s.

Shortly after parliament voted Saturday, Tymoshenko, Yanukovych's main rival, was freed from hospital in the eastern city of Kharkiv, where she had been treated under guard for a bad back. She headed straight to Kiev's Independence Square, scene of recent violent clashes, and was greeted by a 50,000-strong crowd.

Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in jail for "abuse of power" in 2011.

Getting on a stage in a wheelchair, Tymoshenko told protesters that they "have no right to leave."

"Tymoshenko is now widely seen as a potential presidential candidate, who will become the opposition figurehead and enhance the power of her side soon after being released," Xia Yishan, a scholar with the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times, noting that the new leadership will be influenced largely by the opposition.

However, Tymoshenko said Sunday that she would not seek the post of prime minister, reported AFP.

The army issued a statement Saturday saying it "will in no way become involved in the political conflict" and the police force declared itself in support of "the people" and "rapid change."

Security forces have mostly abandoned government and presidential buildings and anyone was free to enter.

People flocked to take photos of Yanukovych's luxury mansion near the capital that contained a private zoo, replica ancient Greek ruins, and lavish waterways and follies, along with a tall ship and a collection of vintage cars. It was handed to the state on Sunday.

A three-month protest movement dramatically turned into violent last week when many were killed and injured in clashes between demonstrators and security forces. Ukraine's health ministry said 88 people were known to have died since Tuesday, the BBC reported.

Western countries welcomed the rapid changes taking place in Ukraine, which has been in crisis since November when Yanukovych ditched a key European Union trade pact and turned toward Russia who offered a billion-dollar bailout.

The US and the International Monetary Fund offered Sunday to assist Ukraine in rebuilding its battered economy.

Tymoshenko, who claimed she was sure her country would join the EU in the near future, will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel "very soon," her party said Sunday after the two spoke over the phone.

However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said "illegal extremist groups are refusing to disarm and in fact are taking Kiev under their control with the connivance of opposition leaders."

"Russia will not just stand by and watch, and it will set up economic barriers for Ukraine especially on energy resources, as Ukraine is now relying heavily on Russia in this field," Ding Peihua, a research fellow with the Institute of International Relations at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

"On the other hand, Europe is unlikely to provide sufficient aid as it is still suffering from economic problems," he said.

He noted that the opposition victory may be short-lived, whereas internal political struggles and economic hardships will prevail for the long-term.   

Agencies contributed to this story