KIEV (AFP) - Scuffles broke out in the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Sunday as protesters tried to storm police cordons near government buildings after 200,000 turned up for an opposition rally in a show of defiance against strict new curbs on protests.

Ukranian police used clubs and tear gas against demonstrators, some of whom rocked police buses and threw stones at security personnel, an AFP reporter saw.

Top opposition leader Vitali Klitschko urged the crowd not to provoke the police, saying protesters could get hurt.