Ukrainian politicians break into fistfight in parliament building

Peace might come to the battlefield before parliament.

Two Ukrainian politicians got into a no-holds-barred fistfight in the halls of parliament Thursday.

MP Yegor Sobolev of the Samopomochi party gave MP Vadim Ivchenko of the Fatherland party a bloody nose during the heated brawl outside the chamber as witnesses shot footage.

According to reports, the fight stemmed from heated discussions over a bill in the nation’s parliament, Verkhovna Rada, in the capital city of Kiev.

Ivchenko was wearing a suit throughout the altercation, while Sobolev had on a sweater over a T-shirt and jeans.

A camouflage-clad guard managed to separate the embattled deputies and send them to opposite corners while cameramen crowded around.

Video of the fight appeared shortly after world leaders brokered a ceasefire, scheduled to begin on Feb. 15, in the nation's battle with Russia.

This is far from the first time physical violence has reared its head in the Ukrainian parliament. Last year was filled with the same sort of violence that has erupted inside and outside of Verkhovna Rada.

In September, angry demonstrators threw MP Vitaly Zhuravsky headfirst into a trash bin outside the parliament building. Zhuravsky, who once supported ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, had written a bill clamping down on antigovernment protesters, Ukraine Today reported.

In April 2014, a melee broke out inside the chamber between nationalists and Communists over the escalating problems with Russia, according to Reuters.

While the clashes might appear to be a serious problem, some think it shows that Ukraine retains freedoms that nondemocratic nations do not enjoy.

"You would never see fights in the Soviet parliament; you'll never see fights in North Korean political structures. A brawl as a last resort of delivering your point when vocal methods don't work can only happen in a democratic state," former MP Oleg Nadosha told RT in 2012. "It's not effective, but still it's democratic."