Ukrainian president calls for resignation of countrys' prime minister

Ukraine’s president Petro Poroshenko called on prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and the prosecutor general to resign and for a technocratic government to be formed.

Instead of calling for new elections – which some observers worry could scare off foreign investors -Poroshenko said a “complete government reboot” was necessary instead.

His push for change came after two well-known reformists, the country’s economy minister Aivaras Abromavicius and deputy prosecutor General Vitaliy Kasko, resigned from their posts earlier in February after accusing officials from the ruling party of blocking reforms to enhance transparency and tackle corruption.

Last week, the boss of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, warned the country’s bailout might be halted by the political wrangling.

A $1.7bn tranche of aid from the Fund had been held up since the end of 2015.

Yatsenyuk was due to report on Tuesday on cabinet performance and might face a motion of no-confidence.

Such a move would need 226 votes in the 450-seat parliament in order to be approved.

Lawmakers in Kiev would then have 60 days to craft a new government before early elections were triggered.