Former Georgia president Mikheil Saakashvili has been freed by protesters after a dramatic arrest on the rooftop of his Kiev flat amid a feud with Ukraine's president.

The authorities had seized the firebrand politician, who served as governor of Ukraine's Odessa region between 2015-16, on accusations of trying to overthrow the government of his former ally Petro Poroshenko.

But the botched arrest only galvanised support for Mr Saakashvili and led to ongoing demonstrations in the capital and a criminal case against his sympathisers in parliament.

Mr Saakashvili had climbed onto the roof of his eight-storey building in downtown Kiev and threatened to jump when heavily armed security forces stormed his flat on Tuesday morning.

“Poroshenko is a thief! Poroshenko is a traitor to Ukraine!” he yelled before the troopers seized him and put him in a van.

But protesters blocked the vehicle with other cars and makeshift barricades as the police attempted to quell the unrest with tear gas.