Kuchma fires Ukraine prosecutor general

Ukraine’s outgoing President Leonid Kuchma today fired the country’s prosecutor general, following demands from the opposition.

Kuchma accepted Prosecutor General Hennady Vasylyev’s resignation, the presidential press service said in a statement.

Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko and his allies had pushed for Vasylyev’s resignation since the November 21 presidential run-off, accusing him of failing to investigate vote fraud.

Last Friday the Supreme Court threw out the run-off victory by Kremlin-backed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and ordered a December 26 re-run between him and Yushchenko.

Yushchenko and his supporters have also accused Vasylyev of failing to open a probe against provincial leaders in eastern Ukraine who proposed autonomy for their regions.

After the opposition and its foes in parliament passed a package of bills defusing the 17-day crisis yesterday, Kuchma promised to fire Vasylyev.