Deputies force Ukraine state broadcasting chief out

The head of Ukraine’s state television company has reportedly been forced to resign after being assaulted by nationalist parliamentary deputies unhappy with what they saw as the dissemination of pro-Russian propaganda on the country’s main state channel.

According to reports, a group of deputies forced their way into the office of Oleksandr Panteleymonov and forced him to write a resignation later while filming the incident and later posting the film online.

The group of deputies, which included a member of the right-wing Svoboda party who is also a member of a new parliamentary committee on freedom of speech, accused Panteleymonov of biased reporting.

Politician and potential presidential candidate Vitali Klitschko condemned the deputies’ behavour and called for a full investigation of the incident.