Massive Protests in Ukraine as Parliament Approves Russia Fleet Treaty

After Ukraine parliament approved a contentious treaty approving the extension of a naval port lease to the Kremlin, thousands of protesters demonstrated in the capital Kiev on Tuesday, said media reports.

The treaty was approved by the parliament with 236 deputies of a 450-seat house voting in favour, reports said.

While putting to parliament the vote on the recent agreement with Moscow, parliament speaker Volodymyr Litvyn sat beneath an umbrella protecting him from paper wads, eggs, and other objects including a smoke bomb, said reports.

The agreement allows Russia continued basing of warships and land forces currently stationed in Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula.

Following vote in the parliament, chaos started and pro-treaty parliamentarians used their jackets to breathe through smoke and physically stopped firemen from getting into the chamber, reports said.

In the meanwhile, thousands of demonstrators were protesting outside the parliament building, both for and against the agreement, said reports.

Anti-treaty marchers held banners that read: “We will not allow war to be brought to Crimea,” and “Down with traitor parliamentarians!”

A group of some 1,000 pro-treaty activists was across the street and trading insults with the treaty opponents, reports said.

According to organisers, dozens of parliamentarians loyal to President Viktor Yanukovych spent the night inside the legislature to stop anti-treaty parliamentarians from sabotaging electronic voting equipment in the chamber.

(Based on internet reports)