[News] Ukrainian politician punches Russian representative for dragging his country’s flag from him at a conference in Turkey

A fight broke out at a summit in Turkey after a Russian delegate pulled down a Ukrainian flag from a Ukrainian representative amid escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

 

The incident occurred at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC), when Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Marikovski unfurled his national flag behind a member of the Russian delegation, Olga Timofeeva, as she was being interviewed.

In the video, a member of the Russian team, named Valery Stavitsky, ripped Ukraine’s flag from the hands of Mr. Marikovski and walked off while he was posing for pictures. The Ukrainian delegate immediately gave him a chase and then launched several punches at Stavitsky before retrieving the flag from him.

 

The pair were later pulled apart by other attendees.