Ukraine's new prosecutor general will take an active lead in the country's fight against corruption, President Viktor Yanukovych said on Thursday after lawmakers approved Viktor Pshonka's appointment.
"When it comes to corruption, with your participation, we have to work out our anti-corruption laws from scratch," Yanukovych said in introducing Pshonka to the staff of the Prosecutor General's Office.
Earlier on Thursday, Pshonka's appointment was approved by 292 members of the country's 450-strong parliament.
Yanukovych dismissed Prosecutor General Oleksandr Medvedko on Wednesday. His term had been due to expire on Thursday.
Medvedko had been Ukraine's prosecutor general since November 2005, with a brief stint as deputy prosecutor general in mid-2007.
Under Medvedko, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office was accused of failing to investigate the murder of prominent Ukrainian journalist Georgy Gongadze in September 2000 and the poisoning of Viktor Yushchenko during his ultimately victorious 2004 presidential election campaign.
RIA Novosti
