Ukrainian president takes sick leave amid crisis

January 30, 2014 at 12:18p.m.

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s embattled president is taking sick leave, his office said today, a surprise development that left unclear how efforts to resolve the country’s political crisis would move forward. Protesters have been calling for his resignation for two months. The 63-year-old Viktor Yanukovych has an acute respiratory illness and a high fever, a statement on the presidential website said. There was no indication of how long he might be on leave or whether he would be able to do any work. He wasn’t known to have any previous health issues.