Ukrainian lawmaker punches Russian official at conference in Turkey

A Ukrainian parliament member threw several punches at a Russian official during a conference between Black Sea countries in Turkey on Thursday.

Oleksandr Marikovski was waving a Ukrainian flag behind Russian delegate Olga Timofeeva when another Russian official snatched the flag away, a video of the incident posted to Facebook by the Ukrainian lawmaker shows. 

Marikovski then chased after the Russian official and yanked the flag back, landing several punches before the scuffle was broken up.

“Paws off our flag, paws off Ukraine, Russian filth!” Marikovski wrote in Ukrainian in his Facebook post.

The altercation was the second incident between Ukrainian and Russian officials at Thursday’s meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation in Ankara, according to The Associated Press.

Several Ukrainian delegates previously interrupted Timofeeva’s speech before the assembly by unfurling a Ukrainian flag beside her, the AP reported.