The Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday approved the appointment of Viktor Shokin as the country's new prosecutor general, the parliament's press service said.

The appointment, nominated by President Petro Poroshenko, was backed by 318 of 382 lawmakers present in the assembly.

Earlier in the day, the country's former prosecutor general, Vitaly Yarema, was dismissed by the parliament from his post with 291 votes in favor.

Yarema submitted his resignation on Monday following criticism from local media, which accused the Prosecutor General's Office of slow progress in investigating and prosecuting corruption cases and the civilian deaths during street protests last February that led to the ouster of former President Viktor Yanukovych.

Shokin, a 62-year-old lawyer and long-term ally of Poroshenko, has served as deputy prosecutor general since June 2014.