Ukraine protest violence

Three members of the National Guard were killed and more than 100 people were injured when violence erupted outside Ukraine’s Parliament building on Aug. 31 after a majority of members of Parliament showed support for a bill that would grant the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk more autonomy.

Members of the Ukrainian nationalist groups Radical Party and Svoboda, at the Parliament building protesting the bill, attacked riot police with their own, stolen equipment and explosives, including at least one grenade. Witnesses said that members of Svoboda were responsible for the explosives.

The civil war in Ukraine, ongoing since March 2014, has resulted in the deaths of more than 7,000 people. Ukrainian and separatist armies declared a cease-fire in Luhansk and Donetsk that was to start Sept. 1 in order to allow children to attend school safely. However, within hours, each side accused the other of breaking the agreement, including one violation in which two civilians were killed and six soldiers were wounded in an ambush on a Ukrainian military truck near a rebel-held area.