Adoption of amendments to Constitution followed by grenade explosion near Parliament wounding people

Ukrainian Parliament passed the bill on amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine on decentralization in first reading.

The bill was supported by 265 MPs, BBC Ukraine reports. 

After the vote, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman closed the parliament’s session.

A number of members from the Radical Party and the Freedom Party blocked the parliament’s rostrum in the morning. They protested against passing the amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine.

Provision of special local self-government procedures in certain areas of Donbas, mentioned in the transitional provisions of the Constitution, was the most debated issue.

The vote in the Verkhovna Rada was followed by clashes erupted among the Radical Party and the Freedom Party protesters and the police, who had encircled the parliament.

The protesters threw an explosive device to the ranks of police officers. At least seven policemen were seriously injured.

The large pools of blood are seen on the scene, the police officers are given first aid.

“The instigators threw ball grenade at the law enforcement officers. Several fighters of the National Guard were wounded, their lives are in danger,” advisor to the Ukraine’s Interior Minister Anton Herashchenko posted on Facebook. 

Поранених вивозять прямо в багажниках поліцейських автвок – швидких не вистачає. Фото @krasinskyy pic.twitter.com/jl2GTVkzla

— Kateryna Avramchuk (@avramchuk_katya) August 31, 2015

Наша знімальна група теж поранена, оператор Діма Большаков з ТСН отримав серйозне поранення в ногу… Інфа від Максима Волобоєва.

— Oleksandr Arhat (@olarhat) August 31, 2015

More than fifty National Guard soldiers were injured, four National Guard soldiers are in grave condition, spokesperson for the National Guard of Ukraine Svitlana Pavlovska said on the air of 112 TV channel. Later, the Interior Ministry press service reported that about one hundred police officers and National Guard soldiers were injured.

As of 15:00, the clashes near the Parliament’s building ceased, the rally continued. The investigative team and forensic experts work on the scene.

The Pechersk District State Administration in Kyiv asks residents and visitors of the city to refrain from trips to the capital center.