More from our news desk on the scuffle in the parliament:
A fight broke out among deputies belonging to Ukraine's ruling coalition after a lawmaker tried to remove Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk from the podium as he spoke to parliament.
Yatsenyuk was defending his government's record when lawmaker Oleh Barna -- a member of President Petro Poroshenko's political party -- tried to give the prime minister a bouquet of roses.
He then grabbed Yatsenyuk around the waist and lifted him up before other deputies came and forced Barna to release him.
Several lawmakers then scuffled with each other and threw some punches for several minutes before order was restored.
Support for Yatsenyuk has fallen dramatically in the past year as his government has passed austerity measures and other economic reforms.
Yatseniuk, 41, took office exactly one year ago in an agreement that gave his government immunity from being sacked.
He told lawmakers he would not "cling to his chair" as prime minister and would accept a parliament vote to dismiss him if that was the result of a confidence vote.
Ukraine must still pass laws on critical tax and budget bills as well as on judicial issues in order to receive some $4 billion in international loans.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AP
A Yatsenyuk meme has inevitably taken off on the Internet:
Yatsenyuk fever, catch it!
Here's an item just in from our news desk:
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week for talks on Syria and Ukraine.
"They will discuss ongoing efforts to achieve a political transition in Syria," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said on December 11.
Kerry will also meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
The United States and Russia, which are key sponsors of the international bid to mediate an end to the Syria war, have different approaches to finding a political solution to the conflict and to the fight against the Islamic State group.
At his meetings with Putin and Lavrov, the U.S. envoy will also bring up the ongoing stand-off in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow is accused of supporting separatists.
(Reuters, AFP)