Vice President Joe Biden in a telephone call with Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has commended his decision to replace Prosecutor General Shokin, the Office of the Vice President said.

"The Vice President also commended President Poroshenko's decision to replace Prosecutor General Shokin, which paves the way for needed reform of the prosecutorial service. The Vice President urged President Poroshenko to continue on this positive trajectory, to include successful implementation of the new legislation and continued visible progress on anti-corruption reforms, noting this will require unity and stability," reads a statement published on the website of the U.S. Embassy to Ukraine.

The vice president also welcomed the passage by the Verkhovna Rada this week of the anti-corruption legislation in line with the agreements with the IMF and the EU.

The vice president also condemned the increasing violence in eastern Ukraine which has led to a deteriorating humanitarian situation, as well as "the continued failure by combined Russian-separatist forces to allow the OSCE full access to the areas under their de facto control."

Biden also noted that implementation of Minsk agreements by all sides remained the best way forward for resolving the conflict.