KIEV, July 5 - Yuriy Lutsenko, a popular former internal affairs minister, will lead a bloc of parties loyal to President Viktor Yushchenko for the Sept. 30 snap parliamentary election, leaders announced Thursday.

Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party and Lutsenko's People's Self-Defense party agreed last week to join forces for the election, but the bloc will be joined by eight smaller parties, the leaders said.