CRI听力:Ukraine's Ministers Meet for Their First Cabinet

Ukraine's newly appointed interim Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk has held his first cabinet meeting in Kiev.

It comes after parliament approved the new coalition government on Thursday.

The former economy and foreign minister says the main task of his government is to help revive Ukraine's faltering economy, along with staying on the course toward European integration.

The International Monetary Fund is preparing to send a fact finding team to Kiev next week to answer Ukraine's call for financial help.

Yatsenyuk is also vowing to preserve the territorial integrity of the state, despite an escalation in tensions in the southern Crimea region.

"We will guarantee safety and nobody will split Ukraine.　We are Ukrainian, united in the fact that we have one united Ukraine. Despite the fact that we have religious, language and other differences."

Armed groups in Crimea have seized local government and parliament buildings, raising Russian flags over them.

This is triggering fears of a separatist rebellion that could potentially tear the country apart.

The local parliament in Crimea has announced there will be a referendum on whether the region should have independent status.

Meanwhile, dismissed President Viktor Yanukovych has released a statement, saying the Ukrainian parliament's decision to kick him out of office this past weekend was illegal.

Yanukovych says he still considers himself the legitimate head of the Ukrainian state.

He's scheduled to hold a news conference from Russia later on this Friday.