Mariana Bezugla blocked the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada demanding the resignation of Oleksandr Syrskyi

On December 16, during the opening of the plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada, a clash between MPs occurred when Mariana Bezugla blocked the parliamentary rostrum, preventing other lawmakers from speaking.

The conflict escalated during the performance of the national anthem, when MP Serhiy Taruta tried to restore access to the rostrum by removing the barrier tape and engaging in a verbal altercation with Bezugla. Blocking the work of the parliament, she put forward a number of demands to the country’s military-political leadership, including urgent military reform and the resignation of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky.

The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk reacted to the deputy’s actions, urging her to leave the rostrum and not interfere with the work of the legislative body. He emphasized that a people’s deputy has no right to impede the consideration of agenda items, block the rostrum, or interfere in the work of the chairman and the voting of other parliamentarians. After a verbal altercation, Stefanchuk announced a 15-minute break, after which the plenary session continued.

On December 8, Mariana Bezugla announced through her own social networks the resumption of the strike and her intention to block the activities of the parliament until her personnel demands were met. She stated that she would stop the consideration of any draft laws due to amendments and procedural actions until Oleksandr Syrskyi is dismissed.

The deputy explains her demands by the lack of changes in the management system of the Armed Forces and problems at the front. Bezuglaya’s main complaints include:

• Lack of military reform, lack of audit and unchanged combat management system, as well as excessive number of headquarters.

• Personnel stagnation after the dismissal of Andriy Yermak and the lack of significant changes in the military leadership.

• Problems with air defense and organization mobilization, when tens of thousands of people are at the front without rotations against the background of a million reserved.

Bezugla also appealed to President Volodymyr Zelensky not to ignore the situation in the defense sector and emphasized that as long as Syrsky holds his position, the necessary changes in the Armed Forces will not occur.