One police officer has been killed and at least 100 people, including police officers and journalists, have been injured in an explosion during clashes with protesters in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.

Protests erupted as MPs gave their initial support to reforms that would give greater autonomy to the disputed regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east of Ukraine, where a fragile ceasefire is in place after a year of fighting in which almost 7,000 people have died.

An agreement on greater autonomy for the eastern regions was part of the Minsk peace deal, signed in February.

The explosion came as demonstrators attempted to break through the fence surrounding the Verkhovna Rada parliament building at Constitution Square.

A missile was thrown towards the police from the crowd, many of whom were flying banners in support of the ultra-nationalist Svoboda (Freedom) party, causing carnage on the ground.