Ukraine would set up an anti-corruption bureau to curb misuse of public funds and abuse of power among administrative staff, Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said here Friday.

"Establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau is the priority task for us in the framework of the reforms aimed at fighting corruption," Yatsenyuk told the parliament.

During his speech, Yatsenyuk underlined the importance of fighting corruption, but stressed punitive measures were also needed to root out the abuse of power in the public sector.

He urged lawmakers to speed up the adoption of a stricter anti-corruption law and proposed to impose harsher penalties.

Ukraine created an anti-corruption committee in May 2012, but it has failed to meet expectations, with corruption still a problem in the healthcare, law enforcement, education and judiciary systems.

In a global index of perceived official corruption conducted by Transparency International, Ukraine ranked 144th among 177 countries worldwide.