Kyiv City Council Session Cut Short Amid Protests

Ukrainian riot police officers stop an opposition deputy as he tries to enter the building of the Kyiv City Council through a window.

A Kyiv City Council session lasted just 10 minutes before ending in a scuffle between dozens of opposition parliamentary deputies and security personnel.

After being blocked from entering the building, the opposition lawmakers got inside through a window.

The opposition lawmakers have been blocking council sessions for months, demanding that elections for the Kyiv City Council and the Kyiv mayor's office be held this year.

The current council's term officially ended in June.

The last elections were held in 2008, two years earlier than scheduled, amid corruption allegations.

In May, Ukraine's Constitutional Court ruled that the next city council elections should be held in 2015, even though the previous elections were held early.

Hundreds of opposition activists and their supporters gathered on Kyiv's busy Khreshchatyk Street on August 19 to protest the council's session.

Based on reporting by UNIAN and Interfax