The faction of the Ukrainian Communist Party will not participate in the vote in the Verkhovna Rada until pension and health reforms are cancelled in Ukraine, faction leader Petro Symonenko has said.

"The Communist Party faction will not vote for laws in parliament until pension and health reforms are cancelled and until there is a provision on the protection of the payment of wages for citizens," he said in parliament on Tuesday.

He also said that the faction had offered its own program of actions on the basis of anti-crisis legislation, in particular, in support of domestic producers.

Symonenko spoke in Russian. All his speech was accompanied by Svoboda MPs chanting "Ukrainian!" as they demanded that Symonenko speak Ukrainian.