Ukrainian parliament accepts resignation of Yatsenyuk

KIEV - The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk and appointed parliament speaker Volodymyr Groysman as new head of the government.

The decision was approved by 257 votes in favor, passing the 226-vote minimum requirement, said a statement posted on the parliament's website.

Yatsenyuk, who came to power in February 2014, announced his resignation on Sunday, two months after he survived a non-confidence vote.

His support rate dropped sharply in March because of his failure to keep the government institutions function smoothly and his perceived inability to tackle corruption and stabilize the economy.

Groysman, a 38-year-old former businessman and former mayor of Vinnitsa in central Ukraine, was chosen to replace Yatsenyuk as a compromise candidate, accepted by the two major parliamentary forces -- the People's Front party of Yatsenyuk and the Solidarity party of President Petro Poroshenko.

The Ukrainian constitution stipulates that the replacement of the prime minister results in the change of the entire cabinet. The lawmakers are due to decide on the composition of a new government by the end of this week.