Arseniy Yatsenyuk twice turned down opportunities to be Ukraine’s prime minister. He took the third chance, which he described as a “kamikaze” mission.
The 39-year-old lawyer takes over the government with the country reeling from its bloodiest week since World War II, inheriting a race against the clock to avert a default. He also has to deal with intensifying ethnic tension in the south, Russia’s disapproval and skeptical protesters holding out on Kiev’s Independence Square.