Ukrainian authorities say Prosecutor-General Yuriy Lutsenko will personally oversee the probe into what officials are calling a "friendly fire" shootout between police and state guards service agents that left at least five law-enforcement officers dead.
Authorities say the deadly incident occurred at about 4 a.m. on December 4, during a search for suspected armed robbers in the village of Knyazichi outside Kyiv.
The Prosecutor-General's Office said on its website on December 5 that the Kyiv regional prosecutor's office had given the green light for investigations into the shooting.
Ukrainian media reports said that a number of armed robbery suspects were detained later on December 4.
President Petro Poroshenko on December 4 said the tragedy "should not be politicized" and called on Ukrainians "not to use it to destabilize" the situation in the country.
