Protesters, police clash outside Ukraine parliament

KIEV: Clashes broke out near the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev on Tuesday when more than 1,000 protesters demolished a metal fence in a bid to enter the building, police said.

Coal miners, veterans of the Soviet Afghan War and Chernobyl "liquidators" (people who dealt with the 1986 nuclear disaster) demonstrated to demand decent wages and social benefits. Miners also called for compensation over unpaid wages. Several law enforcement officers were injured in the clashes, police said after detaining one protester.

Authorities stepped up security measures outside parliament, deploying 500 police officers. Vice Speaker of the parliament Iryna Gerashchenko addressed the gathering and representatives from each protesting organisation were invited to negotiations.

Protests outside government buildings in Ukraine’s capital are not uncommon. In March 2018 clashes broke out near parliament after police removed a makeshift camp put up to protest corruption. In 2015 four national guard members were killed and over a hundred people injured during clashes between Ukrainian nationalists and security forces.