Ukraine’s embattled prosecutor-general has officially submitted his resignation, a spokesman for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko wrote on Twitter.
The presidential administration has received an official letter of resignation from Prosecutor-General Viktor Shokin, presidential press secretary Sviatoslav Tsegolko wrote on February 19.
Calls for Shokin’s resignation mounted after Deputy Prosecutor-General Vitaliy Kasko resigned on February 15, accusing Shokin of hindering corruption investigations.
There were media reports that Shokin had resigned as early as February 16, but other reports said he had gone on an extended vacation.
During a telephone conversation on February 18, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told Poroshenko that the United States welcomed his efforts to replace Shokin, which Biden said “paves the way for needed reform of the prosecutorial service.”