You're reading: Ukraine war veterans protest over payout cuts (PHOTO, VIDEO)

Sept 20 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Ukrainians, mostly veterans of the 1979-89 Soviet Afghan war protesting against plans to cut their payouts and subsidies, tried to storm into the parliament building and scuffled with police on Tuesday.

The former Soviet republic is trying to cut budget spending in order to regain access to a $15 billion International Monetary Fund programme, but its austerity measures face strong public opposition.

Ukraine’s parliament is considering a bill that would allow the government to reduce payouts and subsidies awarded to people such as Afghan war veterans and rescue workers who had worked at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986.

"For me, these payouts are not crucial but they help some of my friends survive," said Pavel, an Afghan war veteran who had asked to be identified only by his first name.

A few hundred of people broke through the police cordon and tried to enter the building. (Facebook)

Thousands of people rallied outside the parliament. A few hundred broke through the police cordon and tried to enter the building but were stopped by police reinforcements.

However, they succeeded in drawing the MPs’ attention and Oleksander Yefremov, the head of the ruling Regions’ Party faction, told reporters after meeting the protesters that their complaints would be taken into account.

Ukraine pledged last year to reduce its budget deficit to secure a crucial IMF facility.

Thousands of people rallied outside the parliament. (Facebook)

But steps such as tax and pension reforms have been met with public protests and the government has slowed down the implementation of unpopular austerity measures, prompting the IMF to put financing on hold.

An IMF mission is due to visit Kyiv in late October and the fund has said it wanted Ukraine to take a painful step of raising gas prices for households in order to restart the programme.

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