Now the Ukrainian 112 outlet is reporting that Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has said that one serviceman has died in the violence outside the Verkhovna Rada today.
Video of the blast has now surfaced on YouTube. This is how Meduza reported what has been happening:
Ukrainian police have detained a man suspected of attacking a crowd of riot control officers with a grenade earlier today at a protest by far-right nationalists against the Parliament's vote in support of granting greater autonomy to the separatists regions in Donetsk and Lugansk. The attack has already claimed the life of one police officer, and another three remain in critical condition, Kiev's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, told Hromadske.tv.
Video has appeared online apparently capturing the moment of the grenade attack. At roughly 1:09 in the clip below, a large explosion shakes the ground and sends police limping away from the site of the blast.
President Petro Poroshenko will give a televised address regarding today’s events in and around the Ukrainian Parliament, said Svyatoslav Tsegolko, his spokesperson.
Besides the person who allegedly threw a grenade at law-enforcement officers, 29 more people have been detained, writes Interior Minister Arsen Avakov.
“The one who threw the grenade was detained. [Officials] seized grenades from him, including a maximum destruction F1 grenade,” he wrote.
All in all, around 90 people were injured, says Avakov.
Ukrainian Deputy Boryslav Bereza shared a photo of the Rada’s third-floor bulletproof window, which has been pierced through. “We're not only hearing explosions today,” Bereza writes on Facebook.
The latest on the clashes from our news desk:
Ukraine's National Guard says four of its servicemen suffered "life threatening injuries" from what one lawmaker described as a grenade blast during clashes between police and protesters outside the parliament on August 31.
Ukraine's Interior Ministry said more than 90 security officers were injured during the clashes, including one officer who lost both of his feet as a result of the blast.
Kyiv's Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said "some" members of the National Guard were killed, but he did not specify how many -- and there was no immediate confirmation of his statement from law enforcement authorities.
A BBC correspondent described hearing three stun grenades followed by a louder explosion.
Video footage showed more than a dozen Ukrainian riot troops limping after the explosion, and at least one plainclothes officer falling to the ground and being dragged away.
Other footage showed bloodstains on the pavement while servicemen dragging away at least two other wounded security officers.
Kyiv police said a man suspected of throwing a hand grenade was been arrested, and about 30 other protesters were arrested during the clashes.
Earlier reports said security forces used batons and pepper spray against the demonstrators.
Smoke bombs also were used, but it was not immediately clear whether those devices were thrown by police or by protesters.
The demonstrators were protesting a presidential bill aimed at extending the level of autonomy for pro-Russian separatists in parts of eastern Ukraine.
The parliament approved the first reading of the constitutional amendment, which states that a separate law will determine the extent of local self-governance in parts of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Of the 368 lawmakers at the August 31 session, 265 supported the bill.
The bill was submitted by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in accordance with February's Minsk cease-fire agreement.
At least 300 votes will be needed to pass the constitutional amendment at the next session of parliament.