KIEV, June 17 – The Constitutional Court on Friday deemed ‘unconstitutional’ the use of Soviet Union’s Red Flag to celebrate Ukraine’s holidays, a ruling that reverses a law signed by President Viktor Yankovych last month.

The ruling by a court that is dominated by loyalists of Yanukovych comes as a surprise that may indicate possible reversal of some of Ukraine’s controversial policies.

The bill approved by Parliament earlier this year and signed by Yanukovych into law on May 20 allows the authorities to hoist the Red Flag, along with the national Blue-and-Yellow flag, on Victory Day, May 9.

The legislation was seen as extremely controversial and had led to clashes and a shooting incident in Lviv on May 9. The cancelling of the legislation may also prevent other clashes as the Communist Party, the supporters of the Red Flag legislation, had been planning to use the banner again in Lviv, now on June 22.

For many in western and central regions of Ukraine the Red Flag has been associated with Communist crimes committed against the people, including Holodomor, when up to six million Ukrainians were starved to death in 1932-1933 to weaken their resistance to the Communist regime.

But those in eastern regions of Ukraine mostly honor the Red Flag as the “flag of the Victory” of the Soviet Union over the Nazi Germany in May 1945.

“The main thing is to prevent another standoff, another confrontation,” Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn said. “The use of any banners, including the Red Flag, is the matter of consciousness, political position, views of any person or a civic group.”

But potentially underscoring a regional split, the Luhansk regional council in eastern region has approved decision allowing hoisting the Red Flag, along with the national flag, by all state regional offices, according to Spiridon Kilinkarov, a Communist Party lawmaker.

The Constitutional Court acted on the appeal by the Ukrainian People’s Party, a nationalist and conservative group, which asked the court to cancel the law.

“The president must not sign, but veto shameful laws that are aimed at weakening the statehood and sovereignty of the country,” Yury Kostenko, the leader of the UPP, said in a statement before appealing the law.

The clashes in Lviv erupted after a group of about 10 pro-Russian youths suddenly unwrapped a huge red flag near the monument for the fallen Soviet troops in 1941-1945 at the Hill of Glory, provoking an angry reaction from the mostly nationalist crowd.

This has quickly escalated to a point that one of the pro-Russian activists pulling out a gun and shooting at the crowd, seriously injuring a 23-year old Ukrainian identified by police as Oleh Kovpak, an assistant to a local lawmaker. (tl/ez)