On camera: Ukrainian MP punches Russian official at Turkey conference
What's the story
In a shocking incident, a Ukrainian Member of Parliament allegedly punched a Russian representative at a conference in Turkey's Ankara on Thursday. Per Business Today, a viral video of the scuffle purportedly shows Russia's Valery Stavitsky rushing toward Ukraine's Oleksandr Marikovski and snatching the Ukrainian flag from his hands. Marikovski then angrily moves toward Stavitsky and punches him in the face.
Twitter Post
Video allegedly showing Marikovski punching Stavitsky
🥊 In Ankara 🇹🇷, during the events of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Community, the representative of Russia 🇷🇺 tore the flag of Ukraine 🇺🇦 from the hands of a 🇺🇦 Member of Parliament.
— Jason Jay Smart (@officejjsmart) May 4, 2023
The 🇺🇦 MP then punched the Russian in the face. pic.twitter.com/zUM8oK4IyN
More information
Russia recently accused Ukraine of drone strike on Kremlin
The dramatic incident played out during the 61st Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. Notably, tensions between the two countries, which have been at war for nearly a year, have risen. On Wednesday, Russia accused Ukraine of an attempted drone strike on the Kremlin to assassinate President Vladimir Putin. In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was blaming him falsely.