Four Ukrainian parliamentarians leave the chamber as President Poroshenko speaks
Four deputies from the "Opposition Bloc" left the Ukrainian parliament chamber in protest while President Petro Poroshenko was speaking, the party's press service said.
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| President Poroshenko speaks at the Parliament. |
On Thursday, President Poroshenko addressed the Verkhovna Rada with his annual message to the deputies. In his speech, Poroshenko said that Kiev is increasing the status of the Ukrainian language in all spheres of life and raised the issue of granting autocephalous status (administrative independence of the church) to the Ukrainian Church.
"Four deputies Alexander Vilkul, Vadim Novinsky, Dmitry Shpenov and Nestor Shufrich left the parliament chamber when the president spoke about the Church and language. By doing so, the opposition deputies who opposed the president's initiative grossly violated the Constitution and the rights of Ukrainian citizens," the statement said.
