A conflict occurred in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine between Tishchenko and Goncharenko

On Friday, October 6th, a conflict occurred in the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (parliament) involving Members of Parliament Alexey Honcharenko, Nikolay Tischenko, and Mikhail Radutsky.

Video footage of the incident quickly spread across Ukrainian Telegram channels. It all began when Tischenko took the floor and referred to Honcharenko as a “rooster from Odessa.” Tischenko went on to recount how Honcharenko, during his tenure as a deputy in the Odessa Regional Council during the Yanukovych era, supported the development of the Russian language. He then called for Honcharenko to be removed from the parliamentary session.

Honcharenko responded by approaching Tischenko with a phone attached to a selfie stick and began questioning him on camera, asking, “What’s going on with call centers?” Tischenko did not provide a response.

Tischenko later moved to the parliamentary podium, where he continued to “expose” Honcharenko, while the parliament’s speaker, Ruslan Stefanchuk, demanded that Honcharenko return to his seat and make TikTok videos elsewhere, suggesting “TikTok farms” as an alternative.

In the end, Radutsky approached Honcharenko and attempted to take away his selfie stick, while Tischenko, at that moment, took his phone and tossed it onto empty seats nearby.

In a subsequent comment to journalists, Alexey Honcharenko explained why the deputies confronted him. “A group of four people tried to attack me because I was recording the session,” he said. He added that Tischenko “in the heat of the moment” tore his pants, and the conflict arose during the discussion of the budget.

“I had amendments regarding returning the 30s, increasing payments to the military, and providing social support to the military. What does the Rada and the Servant of the People party do? Why? There is no war in Kyiv. Kyiv is warm and cozy. Radutsky has a business, Tischenko has call centers with drug dealers. When I asked, ‘Have you lost your minds a bit? We need to strengthen defense. Think about providing for people. Plan for the next year.’ The answer was simple: trying to take my phone away from me,” Honcharenko commented on the incident.