A long Facebook post, but worth a read:
You can read more on Ukraine's infamous parliamentary brawls here. And there's also this photo gallery from October 2017:
Ukrainian Politics: The Greatest Hits
A brawl in Kyiv's parliament on October 6 was just the latest case of Ukraine's politicians opting to bust heads rather than filibuster. A dip into the archives reveals 14 of the (many, many) times when dialogue broke down and fists, eggs, and smoke bombs flew.
Ukrainian Politics: The Greatest Hits
Our news story on the signing of a decree granting autocephaly, or independence, to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine has been updated to include some more reaction to the development. Here's the passage that's been updated:
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko thanked the patriarch "for the courage to make this historic decision" and said it was "a great day" for Ukrainians.
Vladimir Legoida, a Russian Orthodox Church spokesman, denounced the decree as "a document that is the result of irrepressible political and personal ambitions."
It had been "signed in violation of the canons and therefore not possessing any canonical force," Legoida said in a statement on January 5.
"It is a great honor for me to visit Istanbul, where a long-awaited event will take place tomorrow," Poroshenko wrote on Facebook, referring to the official handover of the decree.
Poroshenko predicted that the move will open a "new era in Orthodox history."
"We pray for peace and unity," he added.