An unknown assailant tried to assassinate Ukrainian lawmakers in Kiev on Wednesday by throwing a grenade at them as they walked near the parliament building.
Another grenade was thrown as police officers went after the attacker, injuring one officer who has since been hospitalized, according to a statement published by Ukraine's Interior Ministry late on Wednesday.
Andrei Paruby, deputy chairman of the Ukrainian parliament, wrote on his Facebook page Wednesday that he was among the lawmakers who came under attack.
Paruby said the incident occurred in front of the Kiev Hotel in the center of the city, when Paruby and his fellow lawmakers walked past an unknown man who "walked a few meters away, turned, dug into his pocket and threw a grenade under our feet."
"The grenade actually came in between us and rolled under a car parked nearby. There was an explosion. The attacker fled," Paruby wrote, adding that no one apart from the policeman was injured, although three cars were damaged in the blast.
Paruby headed the self-defense forces of the Maidan protest movement during the mass political demonstrations in Kiev that saw Kremlin-backed President Viktor Yanukovych ousted in February. Currently, he is a member of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk's People's Front party and is not associated with any parliamentary faction.
Ukrainian police are currently investigating the grenade attack and searching for the perpetrator.
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