Ukrainian lawmakers must leave guns outside parliament

FILE - This is a Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017 file photo of Ukrainian lawmaker Nadiya Savchenko as she speaks to the media in Kiev, Ukraine. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov/file)

MOSCOW -- Ukraine's parliament has approved a bill requiring lawmakers to lock up their guns before entering the chamber.

The bill passed Tuesday obliges lawmakers to leave weapons and explosives in lockers.

The move follows last week's statement by Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko, who accused lawmaker Nadiya Savchenko, a former military pilot who became a national icon after spending two years in a Russian prison, of plotting an attack on parliament with grenades and automatic weapons.

The accusations followed Savchenko's claim that Lutsenko was covering up the killings of protesters during Ukraine's 2014 uprising.

Ukrainian media reported that Savchenko was carrying a pistol and three hand grenades when she attended a parliament session last week. Savchenko said she has the right to carry weapons as an officer.