Ukrainian parliament resorts to smoke bombs and egg throwing

The World

First, watch a little snippet of the throwdown in Kiev today; there is at least one fist fight, one smoke bomb, and several umbrellas being used to block hurled eggs. After taking in the vitriolic antics displayed by Ukraine’s elected leaders you’ll probably want to know why they are beating each other up with fists and farm products. It was spurred by a controversial deal, that passed by a narrow margin, to extend an agreement with Russia that gives their neighbor a naval base on the Dead Sea in exchange for discounted natural gas.

The BBC’s Olexiy Solohubenko explains that this is such a heated issue for Ukrainians due to memories and fears of imperial reach from Moscow. He also explains just how unusual it is to make this order of mess in parliament. The video says it all.

Will you support The World with a monthly donation?

Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you. We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

Make a gift today, and you’ll help us unlock a matching gift of $67,000!