Three Ukrainian National Guardsmen Dead, About 140 Injured In Clashes Outside Parliament

Footage from the scene shows an explosive was thrown as clashes erupted in Kiev, where lawmakers gave initial backing to reforms giving the restive east greater autonomy. WARNING: contains graphic images and video.

A Ukrainian national guardsman was killed Monday and about 90 people were wounded — some seriously — during clashes outside parliament in Kiev, the country's interior minister said.

On Tuesday, two other National Guardsmen died from their injuries at a hospital, the Kyiv Post reported. In addition to those killed, 132 servicemen and 10 civilians were injured, according to the Kyiv Post.

A Facebook post by Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said the national guardsman died after taking shrapnel to the heart. That victim was later identified as 25-year-old Ihor Derbin.

The other two victims are Dmitry Slatnikov and 20-year-old Oleksandr Kostyn.

Clashes erupted after nationalist protesters gathered outside the Rada parliament building during a vote where lawmakers gave their preliminary backing to greater autonomy for the nation's restive east — a key part of the Minsk agreement signed in February.

At one point, an explosive device was thrown into the crowd during the protest.

It is not immediately clear what kind of explosive was used, AP said, but photographs and video show trails of smoke coming from projectiles.

There have been 30 arrests, Avakov said, including the person who allegedly threw the grenade, who allegedly had several on him.

Protesters from the right-wing Svoboda — a group with a handful of MPs and a large presence at the protest — did not immediately report any injuries, according to AP.

"No political goals can justify what you did today outside parliament," Avakov said in his Facebook post.

Members of the group had gathered outside the Rada ahead of the vote, and violence began to intensify shortly after 265 lawmakers gave their backing to the first reading of the decentralization bill, with fire crackers and petrol bombs being thrown at police, the BBC reported.

A fragile cease-fire between Ukrainian government troops and pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country has barely held over the summer months, with fighting escalating until an agreement was reached to halt the fighting on Sep. 1.

This video shows the clashes. WARNING: After about one minute, there is graphic footage.

View this video on YouTube

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BuzzFeed News reporter Max Seddon contributed to this report.

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