Several hundred protesters from across the country gathered in Kyiv centre to protest disparity in pensions for active and retired law enforcement personnel. They were holding signs with slogans calling for equal treatment and fair pension rates.

The rally soon turned violent. The protesters demanded a meeting with Ukraine’s parliament speaker Dmytro Razumkov and later tried to tear through barriers to break into the building.

Clashes that ensued saw the police using tear gas to disperse the crowd chanting ‘Razumkov’ and “Disgrace”.  Pushed back, protesters blocked the nearby street.

The rally organizers promised more protests in the upcoming weeks.

Last week, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky asked the government to reconsider the current pension rates for the Ukrainian military personnel. Starting July 1, over 400 thousand of former servicemen who retired before March 2018 will be entitled to extra monthly benefit of 2 thousand hryvnas.  The current minimum pension rate now stands at 3,854 hryvnas.