Rada endorses procurator-general nominee

KYIV – Ukraine’s Parliament has voted to endorse President Petro Poroshenko’s nominee for procurator-general. At the February 10 session of the Verkhovna Rada, 318 of the 382 deputies present voted to approve the nomination of Viktor Shokin to become Ukraine’s next top prosecutor. Mr. Poroshenko accepted the resignation of the previous prosecutor-general, Vitaliy Yarema, on February 9. There were reports that the parliamentary committee on fighting corruption was preparing a motion of no confidence in Mr. Yarema and intended to request his dismissal. When Mr. Poroshenko nominated Mr. Yarema for the post in June of last year he said Mr. Yarema would be a key figure in the fight against corruption. Western governments trying to help Ukraine have repeatedly stressed the need for Kyiv to tackle corruption. (RFE/RL Ukrainian Service, with additional reporting by UNIAN and Interfax)