The expulsion of members of the Ukrainian Communist Party parliamentary faction from the Verkhovna Rada session hall on May 6 indicates that parliamentary democracy in Ukraine has been eliminated, Communist Party leader and presidential candidate Petro Symonenko said. “What happened in parliament today is a continuation of the events that took place in Odessa, and what we had in Odessa is the Khatyn of the 21st century, when people were burned alive. Parliamentary democracy has been dashed today. The current authorities are continuing the national-fascist rampancy that was in Odessa,” Symonenko was quoted as saying on his official website.

It was reported earlier that a majority of the Verkhovna Rada deputies voted for expelling the Communist deputies from the session hall “for a separatist declaration” at a session behind closed doors on Tuesday, at which the deputies listened to reports from the law enforcement and security chiefs. After that, the Party of Regions deputies also left the session hall in solidarity with the Communists.