This Thursday, May 4, the altercation happened outside of an international conference in Ankara, Turkey. A Ukrainian MP named Oleksandr Marikovski is flying the Ukrainian flag behind his back as she conducts an interview with her while holding her smartphone in her hand. The enormous piece of yellow and blue fabric is then brutally snatched away from him by another Russian delegate who rushes in. The elected Ukrainian strikes him in rage, and the two men fight before a third person steps in to swiftly separate them.
Oleksandr Marikovski personally shared the footage of the event on his Facebook page. It occurred during a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organisation (BSEC). The constable captioned the photo, “Paws away from our flag, paws away from Ukraine, Russian scum!”
The Russian representative was brought to a hospital for a medical evaluation, according to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. According to the media, who continue to speak of a Ukrainian “provocation,” “He benefited from consular assistance, the investigation is ongoing.” The press attaché for the foreign mission stated, “We express the hope that the perpetrators will be punished.”
The Ukrainian delegation had already established itself earlier in the day during the Assembly deliberations by raising the national flag when the Russian member spoke.
The thirteen BSEC member states gathered in Turkey in the midst of a tense Black Sea where grain exports from Ukraine have been hindered ever since the start of the war in February 2022.
