KIEV, Ukraine – Ukraine’s rivals for the presidency jabbed fingers at one another and traded accusations in a heated televised debate yesterday, as opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko charged his rival with stealing the November runoff election and Prime Minister Yanukovich urged the formation of a unity government.

With six days remaining before the December 26 court-ordered rematch, the candidates engaged in several sharp exchanges but shook hands and traded smiles as the 100-minute event ended. Unlike American presidential debates, the candidates stood face-to-face at lecterns several feet apart and questioned each other in a dramatic confrontation.

The Kremlin-backed prime minister, who is considered the underdog in the race, tried to appear more conciliatory, several times proposing a unity government. He also pledged he would not contest the official results and urged Mr. Yushchenko to do the same.

“If you win, I will recognize (your victory), if I win – you will,” Mr. Yanukovich said. “And then, you and I are working to form a normal government of national accord.”

Mr. Yushchenko, wearing a tie and handkerchief in his orange campaign color, ignored the proposals, turning the discussion instead to fraud in the November 21 vote that was later annulled by the Supreme Court.

“You’re a religious person, right? Thou shalt not steal. …And then you stole 3 million votes,” Mr. Yushchenko said. After the debate, Mr. Yushchenko’s close adviser Oleh Rybachuk dismissed Mr. Yanukovich’s unity government idea: “Yanukovich was trying to strike a deal…he was begging.”

Mr. Yanukovich, 54, had prepared for the debate by praying at Kiev’s Orthodox Monastery of Caves on Sunday, while Mr. Yushchenko, 50, read books about economics and history, Ukraine’s daily Segodnya reported.

Neither candidate mentioned the dioxin poisoning that disfigured Mr. Yushchenko’s face, which was covered with heavy makeup. That marked a change from their first debate, on November 15 before the initial runoff, when Mr. Yanukovich suggested that his opponent’s then-mystery illness would make it impossible for him to carry out his duties as president.

Mr. Yushchenko was more aggressive during the latest encounter, pointing his finger at his rival and clenching his fists. At times, he slashed his hand through the air and expressed incredulity.

Mr. Yanukovich appeared more defensive, standing up straight, and occasionally shifting his weight like a wrestler. Dressed in his trademark blue tie, Mr. Yanukovich spoke in Russian in his introductory remarks, appealing to his core support base in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking, industrial east.

“Your accusations toward me and toward my voters don’t give us the chance to look into the future optimistically,” he said, wagging his finger at Mr. Yushchenko.

Mr. Yanukovich suggested a Yushchenko victory would endanger Ukrainian unity.

“If you win the vote you will be the president of only part of Ukraine,” he told his rival. “I am not struggling for power – I am struggling against bloodshed.”

The bitter campaign has split the country, with the election commission’s decision to award the November 21 runoff to Mr. Yanukovich triggering two weeks of massive street protests before the court’s decision to strike down the results as fraudulent.

Ukraine’s west and the cosmopolitan capital back the Western-leaning reformist Mr. Yushchenko, while several eastern regions supporting Mr. Yanukovich had threatened to hold referendums on greater autonomy from the central government.