World pressures Ukraine on poll
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 Ukraine demonstrators brave the snow to show their support for the opposition leader.
 CNN's David Ensor looks at possible consequences of the election crisis.
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LONDON, England -- World leaders have stepped up pressure on Ukraine officials to review the results of the disputed presidential poll. Meanwhile, Russian authorities continued to support Ukraine officials.
Here is what world leaders are saying about the crisis:
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States does not accept the results of Ukraine's presidential elections as legitimate, citing "credible reports of fraud and abuse."
"If the Ukrainian government does not act immediately and responsibly there will be consequences for our relationship, for Ukraine's hopes for a Euro-Atlantic integration and for individuals responsible for perpetrating fraud," Powell said in a briefing at the State Department.
"We have been following developments very closely and are deeply disturbed by the extensive and credible reports of fraud in the election," he added. "We call for a full review of the conduct of the election and the tallying of election results." (Full story)
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan said Canada could not accept the results of the election.
"Considering the allegations of serious and significant electoral fraud from international and Canadian election observers, the government of Canada cannot accept that the announced results ... reflect the true, democratic will of the Ukrainian people," McLellan told Parliament.
There are more than 1 million people of ethnic Ukrainian origin in Canada -- around 3 percent of the overall population.
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Wednesday that Ukraine's disputed presidential election must be reviewed to conform with democratic standards.
"A review of this election is absolutely necessary," the Dutch head of the U.S.-led defense alliance told reporters after a meeting with visiting Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic.
"All NATO asks is a review of this election and sticking to democratic principles, and this is the key to NATO-Ukraine relations," de Hoop Scheffer said.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said there would be "consequences" unless Ukraine conducted a "serious, objective review" of the results.
"The election was not considered a fair and independent one," Barroso told reporters, adding that the subject would be raised with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday at an EU-Russia summit.
"We are involved in frank and serious discussion with Russia. We shall make our position clear (Thursday) to the authorities of the Russian Federation," Barroso said.
"It is our duty to say we are not satisfied with the way the election took place in Ukraine... in order to avoid deterioration of the situation and violence occurring."
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told lawmakers he would considering leading a high-level delegation to Ukraine to try to resolve the standoff, but that he had "doubts" that now was the time to go.
"There is not much you can do physically there, but we can reconsider that," he told the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee, which called a special debate on the Ukraine crisis.
Solana said Ukraine's future was at a crossroads and that violence could not be ruled out.
"Ukraine is very profoundly divided. We have to do our utmost so that this country is able to rally together and so that we don't have this profound division," Solana said. "We still have time for a dialogue."
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said the disputed election showed massive fraud.
"I have nothing to question about what the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe observer said, which was that massive electoral fraud took place in Ukraine," he told parliament.
"I am firmly convinced, firstly that the Russian president wants to develop a democracy, and wants to do so out of inner conviction. But that doesn't mean that we cannot ... criticize what has happened in the Ukraine."
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who congratulated Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych before the official results were announced Wednesday, sent another message of congratulations Thursday.
"Now the most favorable conditions have been created for the Russia-Ukraine strategic partnership to enter a new and good-quality level," a Kremlin spokeswoman quoted Putin's message as saying.
"Citizens of our nations, linked by common historic and cultural links, are becoming even closer to each other," Putin said in the telegram. "The continuation of our active dialogue will undoubtedly help expand the bilateral cooperation for the sake of well-being of two brotherly people."
Earlier, Putin called the Western observers' criticism of the Ukraine election "inadmissible" and said through an interpreter that Ukraine "doesn't need to be lectured." The Kremlin-controlled Russian parliament on Wednesday denounced the Ukrainian opposition for its "illegal actions."
Pope John Paul II told Ukrainian pilgrims at the Vatican he was praying for their country in a "special way."
"My most dear ones, I assure you and all the Ukrainian people that in these days, I am praying in a special way for your beloved homeland," the pontiff said Wednesday.
As soon as John Paul started speaking in Ukrainian, about 100 pilgrims from the country stood up and started singing a patriotic song and waving blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags and orange banners.
Former Czech president Vaclav Havel, leader of the country's 1989 "Velvet Revolution" that overthrew communist rule, urged the Ukraine opposition to continue its protests.
"All respected domestic and international organizations agree that your demands are justified. Therefore I wish you strength, endurance, courage and fortunate decisions," Havel said in a statement from Taipei where he was traveling.
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, who came to power on a wave of peaceful protest last year, made a televised address in which he wished the Ukraine opposition "success, peace, calm, justice and victory."
The White House issued a statement Tuesday saying the United States is "deeply disturbed by extensive and credible indications of fraud committed in the Ukrainian presidential election."
The White House statement said it strongly supported an investigation of the election.
"We call on the government of Ukraine to respect the will of the Ukrainian people, and we urge all Ukrainians to resolve the situation through peaceful means," the statement said.
"The government bears a special responsibility not to use or incite violence, and to allow free media to report accurately on the situation without intimidation or concern. The United States stands with the Ukrainian people in this difficult time."
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, who country holds the rotating EU presidency, called outgoing Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and "expressed his doubts whether the preliminary results ... reflected the will of the Ukrainian electorate," Reuters reported.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer issued a statement saying Canberra had followed the election outcome with "deep concern" and had "serious reservations about whether the official results will fully reflect the will of the Ukrainian electorate."
"I urge Ukrainian authorities to fully investigate the irregularities reported in the electoral process and to review the results," the statement said.
OSCE chairman Soloman Pasi expressed concern about the dispute. Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe had criticized Sunday's election.
Pasi, who is also Bulgaria's foreign minister, urged Ukrainian authorities "to investigate thoroughly, in a proactive and timely manner, the irregularities which were identified. ... These irregularities should be redressed within existing legal deadlines."
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
