The speaker of Ukraine’s Parliament on Friday suggested disbanding the chamber and calling new elections after a debate over adopting Russian as the official second language in some parts of Ukraine broke down into a sweaty brawl.
On Thursday evening, parliamentarians tumbled over their desks in the Supreme Council chamber and traded punches, tore clothing and choked one another, to applause and catcalls from reporters and observers in the balconies. At one point, a deputy was thrown headfirst into a chair, only to turn around and stumble back into the melee.
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The New York Times: Ukraine parliament debate over language escalates, badly
The Parliament was debating a law that would elevate the status of Russian to a second language, equal to Ukrainian, in about half the regions of Ukraine, including Kyiv.
