THIS is the shocking moment a huge brawl erupts in occupied Crimea – as Vladimir Putin’s police fail to hold down a traditional wrestling contest.
Astonishing footage showed dozens of fighters as well as swarms of spectators laying into each other during the vicious pitch battle.
Live TV coverage of the tournament was suspended for an hour-and-a-half as cops at the event struggled to halt the carnage.
Viewers in the crowd even climbed down from the stand just to join the mass bust-up.
Eventually, police used batons to disperse the riot before they started cuffing people.
A “verbal dispute” between two Turkic wrestlers caused the event to kick off, according to the Russian puppet government in Crimea.
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Local cops said: “Using special means, law enforcement officers were able to contain the conflict and restore order.”
A report said: “The conflict began after one of the wrestlers lost a match – he couldn’t accept the defeat and resorted to fisticuffs, with others joining in.
“The police even had to use batons to calm the crowd.
“The organisers decided to disqualify the brawlers from further participation in the competition.”
In the footage, a small scuffle breaks out between two fighters before one man tries to intervene.
Seconds later, another man jumps on one of the athletes – before a full-scale punching match begins.
A mass wave of spectators also come down from the stands to throw fists at one another.
The battle unfolded at the Kuresh 2025 tournament in Simferopol.
Some reports said the fiery quarrel broke out between fighters from Crimea – legally part of Ukraine – and the Stavropol region of Russia.
The brawl was also edited out of the event’s coverage, according to local reports.
Russian-controlled TV channels attempted to censor the ugly fight, seen as embarrassing to the narrative of life being harmonious in occupied Crimea.
Putin annexed the Black Sea peninsula in 2014 in a bloodless coup.
But the land is still rightfully recognised under international law as Ukrainian territory.