A journalist has punched a pro-Russian politician in the face on live TV in Ukraine and put him in a headlock in front of the former prime minister in a debate over Vladimir Putin.
The shocking brawl broke out between lawmaker Nestor Shufrych from the pro-Russian party Opposition Platform – For Life, and journalist Yuriy Butusov.
The politician was attacked by his fellow guest after he refused to condemn Vladimir Putin, as Russian troops amasses troops on the border for a potential invasion.
A Ukrainian journalist has punched a pro-Russian politician in the face on live TV and put him in a headlock
Shufrych was left bloodied after Butusov walked up to him and hit him in the face, with former PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk and ex-president Petro Poroshenko watching on.
Shufrych stood up to fight back and the two fell to the ground in the violent scrap before Butusov put his opponent in a headlock while the horrified guests pleaded with them to stop.
The two were eventually pulled apart and continued the discussion on Savik Shuster’s Freedom of Speech talk show.
Shufrych had been asked if Putin is a murderer and a criminal but he refused to answer and said: ‘Let Ukraine’s authorities deal with that.’
The shocking brawl broke out between lawmaker Nestor Shufrych from the pro-Russian party Opposition Platform – For Life, and journalist Yuriy Butusov
The politician was attacked by his fellow guest after he refused to condemn Vladimir Putin, as Russian troops amasses troops on the border for a potential invasion
Former president Poroshenko slammed him for the remarks, saying: ‘There’s a Russian agent right here in the studio.’
The bitter spat comes as thousands of Ukrainian refugees are starting to stream into Russia today after Vladimir Putin’s allies ordered a mass evacuation of two separatist republics as part of a suspected ‘false flag’ operation to provide the pretext for an invasion.
Up to 700,00 civilians are being evacuated from the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk after rebel leaders yesterday claimed Ukraine was about to attack the areas.
Hours later a car bomb rocked Donetsk in an alleged ‘assassination attempt’ of a top Putin-allied official, which Western intelligence agencies believe was faked as part of the ‘false flag’ deception.
Shufrych was left bloodied after Butusov walked up to him and hit him in the face, with former PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk and ex-president Petro Poroshenko watching on
Shufrych stood up to fight back and the two fell to the ground in the violent scrap before Butusov put his opponent in a headloc
Later two explosions at a ‘gas pipeline’ rocked the separatist city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine in another suspected false flag attack.
Last night, US President said he is ‘convinced’ the Russian premier has made up his mind to launch an invasion after amassing almost 200,000 troops on the border.
In a televised address from the White House, Mr Biden said he has ‘reason to believe’ it will occur in the ‘coming days’ and will include an assault on the capital Kyiv.
After weeks of saying the US was not sure if Mr Putin had made the final decision to launch a widespread invasion, Mr Biden said that assessment had changed.
‘As of this moment I’m convinced he’s made the decision,’ Mr Biden said. ‘We have reason to believe that.’
The two were eventually pulled apart and continued the discussion on Savik Shuster’s Freedom of Speech talk show
He cited the United States’ ‘significant intelligence capability’ for the assessment.
The Ukrainian civilian refugees will be housed in tent cities provided by Putin’s government in Russia where they will receive a gift of $132.
False flag suspicions were also fueled by time stamps on the videos announcing the evacuations, that show they were taped by rebel leaders two days before being released.
Huge convoys of buses were laid on the for the refugees, after the evacuation was announced in video addresses by the leaders of the breakaway Republics which have also ordered a general mobilisation of all men to the army.
Multiple explosions could be heard on Saturday morning in the north of the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, a Reuters witness said. The origin was not immediately clear. Ukraine said earlier that one of its soldiers had been killed.
Denis Pushilin, the leader of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, has called on all men ‘who are in the reserves to come to military conscription offices’ following a mass evacuation of women and children in Ukraine’s breakaway provinces to southern Russia.
Up to 700,00 civilians are being evacuated from the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk after rebel leaders yesterday claimed Ukraine was about to attack the areas. A woman says goodbye to her father through a bus window in Donetsk
False flag suspicions were also fueled by time stamps on the videos announcing the evacuations, that show they were taped by rebel leaders two days before being released.
False flag suspicions were also fueled by time stamps on the videos announcing the evacuations, that show they were taped by rebel leaders two days before being released.
Leonid Pasechnik, the leader of the Luhansk separatist region in Ukraine, ordered a general mobilisation shortly afterwards.
Pushilin claimed his region’s forces had prevented attacks he said were planned by Ukraine, and that the Ukrainian army had continued manoeuvres.
Separatist authorities on Friday announced plans to evacuate around 700,000 people, citing fears of an imminent attack by Ukrainian forces – an accusation Kiev flatly denied.
Less than 7,000 people had been evacuated from Donetsk as of Saturday morning, the local emergencies ministry said.
The Ukrainian military said it had recorded 12 ceasefire violations by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in the morning after 66 cases in the previous 24 hours. Separatist authorities also reported what they said was shelling by Ukrainian forces of several villages on Saturday. Both sides regularly trade blame for ceasefire violations.
An explosion was heard in rebel-held Luhansk, one of the main cities in Ukraine’s breakaway region of People’s Republic of Luhansk, according to reports
A car bomb sparked ‘false flag’ fears after it exploded near the headquarters of the pro-Russian Donetsk People’s Republic. Just hours later a fireball was seen lighting up the sky after an international oil pipeline running through the key rebel-held city of Luhansk blew up. The blast rocked the Druzhba pipeline which runs from Russia to various points in eastern and central Europe. On Thursday a shell blew a hole through the wall of kindergarten in Stanytsia Luhanska
Kiev has repeatedly denied any plans to regain control of separatist-held areas using force, including the Crimean peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014. More than 14,000 people have been killed in fighting between Ukraine’s army and Russia’s proxies.
It comes as Ukraine’s army claimed today a soldier had been killed in the separatist east and Volodymyr Zelensky is heading to the Munich Security Conference, despite President Joe Biden’s warning not to leave Ukraine through fear of an imminent invasion.
Yesterday Biden said he is now ‘convinced’ Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine and assault the capital.
After weeks of saying that Washington was not sure if Putin had made the final decision, the US President said that his judgment had changed, citing American intelligence. He reiterated that the assault could occur in the ‘coming days’.
His comments followed a day of rising violence that included a humanitarian convoy hit by shelling and a car bombing in the eastern city of Donetsk.
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