Break announced in Verkhovna Rada sitting due to scuffle between Svoboda, Regions Party faction
A scuffle occurred between people's deputies of the Svoboda and Regions Party parliamentary factions at the parliamentary rostrum when Svoboda faction leader Oleh Tiahnybok was speaking to his colleagues, and Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Rybak has announced a break in the sitting.
Rybak called a meeting of the faction leaders and called on other MPs to calm down and leave the rostrum.
The MPs stopped brawling, but remained at the rostrum.
Before the scuffle, the leader of the Regions Party faction, Oleksandr Yefremov, delivered a speech in Russian. Tiahnybok spoke to the parliament after Yefremov.
Svoboda faction members hissed Yefremov's speech in Russian and chanted "Ukrainian!" demanding that Yefremov speak Ukrainian.
Yefremov, in turn, said that the MPs interrupting his speech were "chanting neofascists."
When Tiahnybok started speaking to the parliament, Regions Party faction members also hissed and chanted "Fascist!"
Tiahnybok stated that members of the Regions Party and Communist Party were demonstrating their reluctance to restart work of the Ukrainian parliament.
"This parliament will work only when it starts to fulfill the Constitution of Ukraine and Ukrainian legislation," he said.
Tiahnybok also accused Rybak of encouraging such situations.
"In fact you're consciously provoking such situations," Tiahnybok said.
Rybak announced a break in the sitting until 1100.