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Clashes outside the Ukraine Parliament Monday killed one national guard and injured 100 others, as far-right nationalists gathered to protest the decision to grant autonomy to some areas in the east of the country controlled by rebels.
Protests turned violent after it was revealed that parliamentarians had approved a draft constitutional amendment, proposed by President Petro Poroshenko, to grant autonomy to the rebel-held areas in the eastern Donbass region.
Supporters of the plan argue that the eastern areas of Donetsk and Luhansk will benefit from the decentralization of power from Kiev.
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Protesters responded by throwing a grenade at the security officers. Of the 100 injured, 10 are reported to be in critical condition.
None of the protesters were reported with serious injuries.
In a televised address, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said the protesters who threw the grenade were “worse” than the separatist rebels because they are destroying the country “under the guise of patriotism.” He also called for life imprisonment of the guilty party.
The nationalist Svoboda party behind Monday's protest said the government was to blame for the violence for “provoking Ukrainians” by presenting a bill which is equivalent to “capitulation to the Kremlin.”
The leaders of Germany, France and Russia agreed Sunday to back a new cease-fire set to begin Sept. 1. The 'contact group', a group made up by representatives of Ukraine, Russia, rebel groups and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, agreed last week to implement the new cease-fire.
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