A criminal case for blocking the highway near Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region has been opened, as well as an internal investigation into the use of special gear by police.

"Police from the Bakhmutsky district unblocked the road. Member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Semen Semenchenko (Samopomich faction) was there and behaved erratically, swore at police officers and blocked traffic. He was reminded of this several times," chief of the main directorate of the National Police of Ukraine in Donetsk region Viacheslav Abroskin said during a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.

Abroskin said, "No one has the right to block a road during time of war – not a parliament deputy, nor a chief of police or anyone else, who considers himself or herself to be a law-abiding Ukrainian citizen."

He said the highway blockage was documented and information about the incident was added to the national register of pretrial investigations.

"There is a corresponding criminal offense pursuant to an article on blocking roadways. I think investigators will have their say on the actions of each participant of this event," Abroskin said. He added that a special investigation was ordered into whether police used special equipment, saying an internal investigation is underway.

"Case materials will be sent to the Donetsk region's Prosecutor General's Office to determine whether a crime was committed," he said.

Parliament's Samopomich faction on Tuesday called on the Rada's law-enforcement committee to conduct a special meeting to review the episode involving the unblocking of the highway in Donetsk region by activists.