Ukraine's Prime Minister dragged from parliament podium

(Vatican Radio)  A tense calm has returned to Ukraine's parliament where fighting broke out among members of Ukraine's ruling coalition Friday after the prime minister was violently removed from the podium. The incident underscored deep divisions in the pro-Europe coalition which could fall despite Western warnings that time is running out for Ukraine to root out endemic corruption and cronyism. 

Listen to Stefan Bos' report:

A member of President Petro Poroshenko's bloc suddenly walked towards Prime Minister Yatseniuk. Legislator Oleh Barna presented him sarcastically with a bunch of red roses. 

That’s not all. Barna grabbed the prime minister around the waist and groin, lifted him off his feet, and dragged him from the podium. Members from Yatseniuk's People’s Front were furious. They pushed Barna who could be seen throwing punches. 

Angry brawl

Lawmakers from Poroshenko's bloc then joined the fray. An angry brawl ensued for several minutes before deputies return to their seats. 

Prime Minister Yatseniuk didn’t give up but returned. He tried to continue speaking about the achievements of his government. 

In his speech Yatseniuk recalled that he cautioned already a year ago “that nobody could promise the moon” and said legislators “had the full constitutional right to vote on the question of dismissing Ukraine's cabinet.” 

He added that he would “accept the decision of the Ukrainian parliament” as he was not “clinging to this chair”.

Opinion troubles

The latest tensions came while opinion polls showed that Yatseniuk's People's Front party, which triumphed in last year’s parliamentary vote, has an approval rating of just around 1 percent.

A disagreement over proposed tax amendments and the draft 2016 budget has delayed the disbursement of up to $4 billion in international loans. Ukraine had hoped to secure that money to boost its war-torn finances before the end of the year.

Friday’s turmoil came just days after US vice president Joe Biden warned Ukraine’s Parliament to continue reforms and tackle corruption. “You also have a battle. An historic battle against corruption,” Biden said Tuesday. 

“Ukraine cannot afford for the people to lose hope again,” he told the legislators. "If you succeed, you will be the founders of the first, truly free, democratic, united Ukraine."

Yet these words seemed to have been forgotten. Friday’s fighting in Parliament underlined international concerns about the future of this former Soviet nation, where another conflict between Russian backed separatists and government forces in the east of the country left as many as 8,000 people dead.