video transcript

A session of Ukraine's new parliament collapsed amid chaos on Thursday. Groups of deputies wrestled with each other in a mass of bodies after the opposition tried to physically block a vote on the ruling Party of the Regions' nomination for the position of speaker. In equally rowdy scenes on Wednesday, opposition deputies paralysed the session by encircling the podium to hamper ruling party efforts. The opposition, which includes deputies loyal to jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, nationalists from the far-right Svoboda Party and a liberal party led by boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko, accuse the ruling coalition of trying to ram through voting despite violations of parliamentary rules. Despite his boxing past, Klitschko watched the brawl from the sidelines. The session was suspended until later in the day.