ANKARA: A Ukrainian delegate has punched a Russian ambassador in the face during the meeting of Black Sea countries after his Ukrainian flag was snatched away to stop him from photobombing the video interview.
According to Al Jazeera, Oleksandr Marikovski posted the video of himself thumping the Russian and retrieving the yellow and blue flag on his Facebook page.
The Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) assembly was being held where the incident occurred in the hallway of the parliament building in Ankara.
Earlier in the day, a few Ukrainian representatives scuffled with security officers who tried to pull them away as they staged the protest, holding and shouting their flags next to Russia’s lead delegate as she attempted to address the assembly.
The Turkish parliament posted pictures of the disturbance on its website, and Mustafa Sentop, a parliament head, issued a stiff rebuke.
He said, “I condemn this behaviour disrupting the peaceful environment that Turkey is trying to establish.”
While delegates from the 13 countries in the BSEC met, Russian military drones continued to attack the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. There are currently no peace negotiations to end the war, which devastated Ukrainian cities and towns, killed thousands of citizens, and drove millions from their homes.
A scuffle broke out between Ukrainian and Russian delegates at a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) in Türkiye’s capital Ankara
Tensions boiled over after Ukrainians interrupted a Russian official’s speech👇 pic.twitter.com/AzZiQi2B6L
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) May 4, 2023
