The National Exit Poll said opposition leader Yanukovich had secured 48.7 percent of the vote against Tymoshenko's 45.5 percent. Another exit poll, by ICTV, said he won 49.8 percent of the vote against her 45.2 percent.
The results, if confirmed, would indicate a remarkable comeback for the opposition leader who was swept aside five years by the 'Orange Revolution.'
But a close aide to Prime Minister Tymoshenko said the close results meant it was too early to say who had won the poll.
"The result of the majority of exit polls are within the margin of statistical error. Conclusions about who the victor is can be made only on the basis of the real results of the Central Election Commission," First Deputy Prime Minister and campaign chief Oleksander Turchynov told journalists.
The election commission is not due to release preliminary results until Monday morning.
Bitter campaign
Sunday's presidential poll among 37 million registered Ukrainian voters followed a bitter electoral campaign during which opinion surveys were not permitted.
Yanukovich won the initial round on 17 January by a ten-percent margin over Tymoshenko.
Each candidate, however, had accused the other of trying to rig the vote and analysts had warned that after ballot stations closed late Sunday their tussle could shift to court wrangles and even street protests.
Ukrainians have become largely disillusioned with politics in their country - almost six years after the euphoria of the 2004 Orange Revolution, when the telegenic Tymoshenko helped sweep the pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko into the office of president on the promise of reform.
In January's first round, Yushchenko ended up in fifth place, paying the price for slumping living standards, diffidence among investors and squabbles with Tymoshenko.
Dire straits
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The economic crisis has led to civil unrest in Ukraine
With Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shrinking by 15 percent in 2009, Ukraine was hit worse by the global economic crisis than any other major European economy. Talks have also been delayed over a proposed $16.4-billion (12-billion-euro) bail-out, suspended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) because of Kyiv's broken promises to control state spending.
In comparison to past Ukrainian elections, when Yanukovich was portrayed as pro-Russian, this time glaring policy differences are few. Both candidates say they want to integrate with Europe, while improving ties with Moscow.
Tymoshenko showed enthusiasm for seeking European Union membership. But, in recent months, she also appeared in photo opportunities alongside Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Critics fault ex-mechanic Yanukovich for not explaining vote-rigging that courts said his campaign team allegedly committed in 2004. Analysts say his appeal is strong among voters disillusioned by the Orange Revolution aftermath.
While campaigning ahead of Sunday's run-off, the sharp-tongued Tymoshenko was left on television debating against an empty lectern when the slow-speaking Yanukovich failed to turn up.
Disillusioned voters
Analysts had said the decisive factor in the election could be how many votes the run-off candidates snare outside their traditional strongholds. Yanukovich has extensive support in Ukraine's Russian-speaking east, including its industrial region of Donetsk, while Tymoshenko is popular in nationalist western regions of Ukraine.
But Ukranian voters on Sunday didn't seem enthusiastic about the election.
In the icy capital Kyiv, where temperatures are around minus 12 Celsius (54 Fahrenheit), state worker Olga Petrenko was blunt.
"My vote is against both of them," Petrenko said before the polls closed. "There is no choice between them because there is no difference between them."
Another voter, Mykola, aged 56, said: "I am not expecting much from this election."
Source:dw-world.de/
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