Local Editor
At least 100 police officers had been injured in clashes in front of the Ukrainian parliament in the capital city of Kiev as radical nationalists gathered there to protest against constitutional amendments that grant more autonomy to the pro-Russia eastern region of the country.
On Monday, hundreds of supporters of Ukraine’s right-wing nationalist parties staged a demonstration in front of the country’s parliament, Verkhovna Rada, calling on the legislative body to overturn the controversial amendments.
Reports said that Oleh Lyashko, the leader of Ukraine’s far-right Radical Party, and ten other MPs from the same faction took part in the rally.
“Let’s stop the anti-constitutional revolt together,” said Igor Mosiychuk, MP from the Radical Party, urging all nationalist legislators to join the protest.
Furthermore, the rally turned violent after demonstrators attacked security forces with smoke bombs, stones and long sticks. The police also used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
“Up to 100 law enforcers have been injured during the clashes near the parliament building,” Ukrainian TV quoted Kiev police Chief Alexander Tereshchuk as saying.
According to Russian news agency, TASS, a powerful explosion also occurred outside the Verkhovna Rada building. Several police officers are in very serious condition after the grenade blast, Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to Ukraine’s interior minister, said.
“A ball grenade has been just thrown at the servicemen protecting the Verkhovna Rada. Several servicemen of the National Guard sustained serious injuries. Their life is in danger,” Gerashchenko wrote on his Facebook page.
Moreover, some five or seven protesters had also been seriously injured, while several others have sustained moderately severe wounds, local media reports said. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said in a statement that at least one protester was arrested over violent clashes with the police forces.
Despite the violent protests, the Ukrainian parliament passed the amendments with 265 MPs voting in favor of them and 87 voting against.
The constitutional reforms, proposed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and backed by Western powers, would grant more autonomy to the country’s restive east which is currently under control of pro-Russia forces.
Source: Al-Ahed news
