WATCH: Smoke Bomb Is Set Off In Ukrainian Parliament
KYIV -- A Ukrainian parliamentary debate on legislation addressing the conflict in the country's east was interrupted by scuffles and a smoke grenade that was tossed into the auditorium.
Despite the disruption, lawmakers gave approval on October 6 to two bills submitted by President Petro Poroshenko, whose government is fighting Russia-backed separatists in a war that has killed more than 10,000 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014.
One of the bills sets out steps to restore Ukrainian sovereignty over separatist-held parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which border Russia, and the other is a bid to create "the conditions necessary for peaceful regulation" of the conflict.
Before votes in which the Verkhovna Rada approved the bills, opposition lawmakers scuffled with members of Poroshenko's party near the podium.
Minutes after the votes, Yuriy Levchenko of the nationalist Svoboda party threw a smoke grenade -- saying later that he did so "to protest the anticonstitutional move."
PHOTO GALLERY: Ukrainian Politics: The Greatest Hits (click image to open)
Ukrainian Politics: The Greatest Hits
1/14A scuffle breaks out in the Ukrainian parliament on October 6, 2017. The melee erupted over a law regarding Ukraine's state sovereignty in separatist-held territory in the east of the country.
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.
2/14Communist politician Adam Martynyuk (right) holds Oleh Lyashko in a leftist death-grip in May 2011.
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.
3/14One year later, Lyashko took hot, sweet revenge when he doused Adam Martynyuk with tea. There's no word on the fate of that laptop.
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.
4/14Punches, a headlock, and a weaponized water bottle during a brawl in Kyiv's parliament in April 2010. The fighting erupted over Ukraine's decision to extend Russia's lease of a naval base in Crimea.
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.
5/14A hard rain fell inside parliament during the April 2010 uproar, but Russia's lease of the Crimean base ultimately became a secondary issue when Moscow illegally annexed the entire peninsula in 2014.
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.
6/14It was peak Ukraine in December 2012 as politicians brawled inside parliament while topless Femen activists shouted anticorruption slogans outside.
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.
7/14Riot police grapple with an opposition deputy trying to enter the Kyiv city council through a window in August 2013.
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.
8/14A brawl erupts among balding politicians inside Kyiv's parliament in May 2012 during a "hearing" on a bill dealing with the use of the Russian language in Ukraine's east.
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.
9/14A policeman steps aside as father and son Andriy and Oleksandr Tabalov are driven out of Kyiv's parliament chamber under a hail of fists and insults. The pair were accused of preparing to switch sides and join the ruling party in December 2012.
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.
10/14Smoke bombs and a giant flag made Ukraine's parliament look more like a gathering of football ultras than an assembly of politicians during the debate on Russia's Crimea base in April 2010.
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.
11/14Deputies of Ukraine's parliament going at it before the annual speech by then Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko in February 2006. The fighting erupted after Communist Party members attempted to attach a placard to the speaker's platform.
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.
12/14In a good candidate for the accidental renaissance photography genre, a brawl erupts during a debate on a Russian-language bill in March 2012.
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.
13/14A right hook from the far-right as Mykhaylo Holovko from the Svoboda party clashes with members of the Communist Party in April 2014.
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.
14/14Things moved fast between Oleh Barna and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in December 2015. Barna handed Yatsenyuk a bunch of roses before picking him up by the groin. During the brawl that followed, the prime minister could be seen trying to find a safe place for the flowers.
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.
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The first bill would define territory controlled by the separatists as "temporarily occupied," define Moscow's actions in those areas as "Russian aggression against Ukraine," and give the president the right to use the armed forces to restore control.
It would also give UN Security Council resolutions precedence over the February 2015 deal on a cease-fire and steps toward peace known as the Minsk agreement.
The second bill would prolong, by a year, the legal force of a 2014 law on self-governing structures in the separatist-held areas.
Lawmakers from the People's Front, Batkivshchyna (Fatherland), and Samopomich (Self-Assistance) parties have opposed the second bill, saying it gives the separatists legal status.
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service has seen its audience grow significantly since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and is among the most cited media outlets in the country. Its bold, in-depth reporting from the front lines has won many accolades and awards. Its comprehensive coverage also includes award-winning reporting by the Donbas.Realities and Crimea.Realities projects and the Schemes investigative unit.
