Ukraine ? President Viktor Yushchenko fired his seven-month-old government Thursday, dismissing his dynamic prime minister – the heroine of the Orange Revolution that swept him to power – and accepting the resignation of one of the movement’s top financial backers.

The government breakup, amid allegations of corruption, deepened a crisis that has diminished the popularity of the man whose dioxin poisoning and defiant stand against election fraud seized the world’s attention last year.

It also left Yushchenko looking isolated, especially in contrast to the broad coalition that joined in the mass protests on Independence Square that many Ukrainians saw as a fresh start for their country.

“We’ve stepped away from the goals of the revolution,” the president told the Ukrainian people, saying he had to act against his friends for the sake of the nation. He accused Cabinet members of focusing more on infighting than running the country of 48 million.