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Ukraine police hurt in Kiev clashes over autonomy deal | Ukraine police hurt in Kiev clashes over autonomy deal |
(35 minutes later) | |
Clashes have erupted between protesters and police in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, as MPs gave their initial backing to reforms for greater autonomy in the disputed east of the country. | Clashes have erupted between protesters and police in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, as MPs gave their initial backing to reforms for greater autonomy in the disputed east of the country. |
Around 20 police were hurt in an explosion after demonstrators tried to break down the fence around parliament. | |
During a noisy session of Ukraine's parliament, MPs voted to approve more powers in areas of Donetsk and Luhansk under control of pro-Russian rebels. | During a noisy session of Ukraine's parliament, MPs voted to approve more powers in areas of Donetsk and Luhansk under control of pro-Russian rebels. |
A fragile ceasefire is in place. | A fragile ceasefire is in place. |
Pushing through greater autonomy for the rebel-held areas is a key part of the Minsk deal, originally signed in February. | Pushing through greater autonomy for the rebel-held areas is a key part of the Minsk deal, originally signed in February. |
During the summer fighting between Ukrainian army forces and the rebels has escalated. But the two sides agreed last week to halt the violence on 1 September, the day children in the region return to school. | |
Although the number of ceasefire violations appears to have fallen in recent days, a senior official in the OSCE international monitoring mission in Ukraine, Alexander Hug, warned that neither side was respecting the truce. | |
"Violations have become the norm," he told Swiss media. | |
Loud explosion | |
Shortly after 265 MPs backed the first reading of the decentralisation bill in the Ukrainian parliament, the Rada, the protests outside parliament became more intense. | |
A missile was hurled from the crowd of demonstrators, many of whom were carrying banners supporting ultra-nationalist Svoboda (Freedom) party. | |
A loud explosion rang out and an AFP reporter described seeing several people covered in blood. | |
One policeman's leg was torn off below the knee, Interfax Ukraine reported. | |
Journalists who had been covering the developments were also among the wounded. | |
Almost 7,000 people have died since the conflict in eastern Ukraine broke out in March 2014, after Russia's annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. | |
Under the draft constitutional changes going through parliament, there will be a special law covering local government in rebel-held areas. However, parliament speaker Volodymyr Hroysman was adamant that would not mean special status for Donetsk and Luhansk, which rebel leaders have declared republics. | |
If President Petro Poroshenko is to succeed in pushing through the reforms, he will need the support of 300 of the Rada's 450 MPs, seen as a tall order for the Ukrainian leader. |