This is definitely something you wouldn’t see in Westminster…
A mass brawl erupted in Ukrainian parliament when a politician tried picking up and dragging the prime minister away… by the bollocks. Ouch.
Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk was giving his annual report on Friday, denying that the Ukrainian government was not corrupt in any way.
But one politician who had obviously heard enough – Oleg Barna of the Bloc of President Petro Poroshenko – walked up to the prime minister handed him a bouquet of flowers and then grabbed him by the balls and tried carrying him out of the building. How romantic!
But his plan didn’t quite come off, getting pummelled in the process by several other members of parliament. The whole meeting then descends into chaos with dozens of politicians trying to punch each other.
Barna told local media that he thinks Yatsenyuk should step down from power, or the people will ‘carry him out’. He obviously took his own remarks far too literally.
The relationship between Yatsenyuk and President Poroshenko has reportedly strained, and Yatsenyuk has said he would not try to stay in power if the Parliament passed a no-confidence vote. The two politicians represent different political blocs.
Friday’s brawl eventually settled down, but it fits into a pattern of fights that have erupted in the country’s Parliament and gained global attention for over five years.
As you’d expect, people started creating some pretty funny memes making light of the situation.
It’s a difficult time at the moment in Ukraine and I’m sure this won’t be the last heated disagreement we see over the next few weeks and months.
