Ukraine veterans clash with police in Kiev over cuts

There have been clashes in the centre of the Ukrainian capital Kiev amid a protest by veterans from the Chernobyl disaster and the Soviet-Afghan war of the 1980s.

Police moved in when protesters tried to block traffic and set up tents. Several people were wounded.

The protesters chanted “shame” as they demonstrated against cuts in pensions and benefits. The former Soviet republic is trying to reduce its public deficit to secure funds from the International Monetary Fund.

The death of a protester in Donetsk on Sunday night has fuelled their anger. The 70-year-old man died as police evacuated the protesters’ camp. Emergency services said he had previously been suffering from chest pains.

“I came here to protest in Kiev because of the man who died in Donetsk,” said an Afghan war veteran called Mykola. “He was the one who made the rich people the billionaires they are. This man died after working for them for 40 years. They came and stole everything; he was simply trampled on.”

The demonstrators, some of whom have tried to storm Ukraine’s parliament, include workers sent to clean up after the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986.

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