Ukraine opposition leader Tymoshenko launches presidential bid as polarizing frontrunner

Ukrainian opposition politician Yulia Tymoshenko delivers a speech during a congress of Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party in Kiev, Ukraine January 22, 2019. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko launched her bid for the presidency on Tuesday as the early frontrunner in opinion polls, pledging to fight corruption, increase wages and speed up integration with the West.

A fiery orator, she immediately emerges as a favourite in the March 31 vote to unseat President Petro Poroshenko, who swept to power in the wake of a 2014 revolution but whose popularity has eroded over his failure to stamp out corruption.