Kharkiv Oblast governor Arsen Avakov on Feb. 6 said he would not obey President Victor Yushchenko's order for him to step down. Kharkiv Oblast governor Arsen Avakov on Feb. 6 said he would not step down, pursuant to President Victor Yushchenko’s decree a day earlier.

Avakov said that it would be impossible for him to obey Yushchenko’s order, calling the decree “illegal.”

“Yushchenko today betrayed me. He has betrayed me many times. The Constitution of Ukraine says: ‘It is forbidden to obey criminal and unlawful orders and instructions. I think that Yushchenko’s order to sack me is illegal and therefore unlawful.'”

Video footage of Kharkiv Oblast governor Arsen Avakov's refusal to step down can be watched here.