Several injured in explosion outside of Ukraine legislature

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the explosion outside of parliament on Monday - or how many people were injured by the blast.

The AFP news agency reported that around a dozen people were injured, while Reuters reported that the source of the blast was a grenade thrown from a crowd of nationalist demonstrators. Both reported that members of the security forces were among the wounded.

This came as lawmakers were meeting inside parliament to vote in first reading of constitutional amendments granting special status to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which are largely controlled by the pro-Russia separatists. This is a key element of the Minsk peace accords aimed at bringing an end to the fighting in eastern Ukraine.

A total of 265 deputies voted in favor of the "decentralization bill." This was 39 more than required in the first reading, but it remains unclear whether President Petro Poroshenko and his political bloc will be able to muster the 300 required for it to pass in the second reading.

The constitutional amendments are controversial and prior to the vote demonstrators protesting against the proposed changes had scuffled with police - prior to the blast.

pfd/jil (AFP, Reuters, dpa)