The United States on Tuesday urged Ukraine to pick a credible top prosecutor to replace one that was sacked by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"We join the people of Ukraine in emphasizing the importance of transparently appointing a highly qualified and truly independent successor as prosecutor general," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters, as quoted by the AFP news agency.
"The independence and impartiality of the prosecutor general is vital to ensuring the integrity of accountability efforts in Ukraine," he added.
Price said that the fight against corruption, long a major concern in Ukraine, was critical as the country seeks membership in the European Union.
"Corruption must be combated even as Ukraine defends itself against Russia's war of aggression. Russia's war against Ukraine poses an external threat. Corruption poses an internal threat," he said.
Zelenskyy announced earlier this month that he was firing prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova as well as security chief Ivan Bakanov.
The Ukrainian President at the time cited the need to act against suspected treason by officials supporting Russia. The president had been critical of the two senior figures' performance even before Russia's invasion on February 24.
That move came days after Zelenskyy fired several of the country’s key senior envoys, including the ambassador to Germany known for battling it out with critics on social media.
In a statement, Zelenskyy announced that he had relieved the ambassadors to Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Norway and India of their positions, and that he would be appointing new envoys.
"This rotation is a normal part of diplomatic practice," he said.
Previously, Zelenskyy fired the security chief of the city of Kharkiv, saying he was dismissed "for not working to defend the city from the first days of the full-scale war, but thinking only of himself," and that while others had toiled "very effectively", the former chief had not.
Although the president did not name the official, Ukrainian media reports identified him as Roman Dudin, the head of the Kharkiv region's SBU security service.