Fight breaks out a Ukrainian parliament over 'Putin's agent' poster

Politicians pile in after row over Ukrainian Orthodox Church

A fight broke out during Ukrainian parliament after a bill was passed demanding that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church explicitly indicate its link to the Moscow Patriarchate in its name.

In total, 240 politicians voted in favour of the draft law, which resulted in punches being thrown.

Bloc Party member, Nestor Shufrych removed a poster which labelled politician Viktor Medvedchuk “Putin's agent.”

Opposition party member, Yuriy Bereza then punched him in the face, before other members piled in.

Andriy Parubiy, the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, called for a break following the bust-up.

Over 1,000 believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church rallied outside the country's parliament to protest the bill.

If it is signed by President Petro Poroshenko, the church will most likely be known as the ‘Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine’.

The Ukrainian church has been part of the Russian Orthodox Church for centuries, but a bitter tug-of-war following Russia's annexation of Crimea has encouraged moves within Ukrainian orthodoxy to create a separate church with no direct links to Moscow.

Associated Press contributed to this report