The protest started on Constitution Square in Kiev in front of the parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, where some 3,000 radicals gathered.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov wrote on Facebook that “one person was killed, 125 were injured, 12 people are being operated on and one soldier is in deep coma. Doctors have refused to give any forecasts on the condition of another five people.”
Those affected were police officers, National Guard troops, the interior ministry’s special forces servicemen and members of other law enforcement agencies, he stressed.
Ukraine’s Deputy Interior Minister Vasily Paskal, journalists of Ukrainian TV channel 5 and channel 1+1 as well as a French correspondent were also among the injured, the minister added.
In an earlier press-conference, the minister said that the wounds were caused “by several explosive devices thrown by the people wearing Svoboda (Freedom) Party T-shirts, who provoked clashes with the National Guard in front of the Rada.”
“30 people have already been detained. But there’ll be more arrests. The grenade thrower has been captured, several grenades, including maximum damage F1 grenade, have been seized from him,” Avakov said, as cited by TASS.
The minister said that he “directly blames” the leader of the Svoboda party, Oleg Tyagnibok, for the incident, saying that what happened near the parliament was “a crime, not a political stance.”
“30 people have already been detained. But there’ll be more arrests. The grenade thrower has been captured, several grenades, including maximum damage F1 grenade, have been seized from him,” Avakov said, as cited by TASS.
The minister said that he “directly blames” the leader of the Svoboda party, Oleg Tyagnibok, for the incident, saying that what happened near the parliament was “a crime, not a political stance.”
Earlier, Avakov confirmed reports that a National Guard soldier has died after receiving a gunshot wound near the parliament.
“There’s one killed National Guard troop – a gunshot wound to the heart… we thought it was shrapnel – but it turns out someone used the confusion to shoot,” he wrote on Facebook.
The Ukrainian Health Ministry said on its website that firearms were widely used during the clashes at the Verkhovna Rada building, and 21 people received gunshot wounds.
There are conflicting reports about the number of casualties near the Ukrainian parliament. Initial reports said that at least five officers were killed in the clashes.
The Ukrainian National Guard has claimed that “about 50” people sustained injuries.
The European Union is concerned over the events in Kiev, urging the sides to be show restraint and start a dialogue, European Commission press-service told Tass.
Tweets from journalists at the scene said supporters of the radical group Right Sector were brutally attacking police officers.
The demonstrators attacked police with long sticks and threw at least one smoke bomb grenade, Russia’s RIA Novosti and TASS news agencies reported.
The Ukrainian UNIAN news agency also reported that smoke bombs were being thrown along with stones.
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