The National Police completed an internal investigation and is ready to bring disciplinary proceedings against police officers found guilty in a shootout in Knyazhychi, Kyiv Region.
At a 13 January briefing, the head of the Police Main Investigation Department Oleksandr Vakulenko said national police leadership will take disciplinary measures against responsible officers "on Friday, 13 January or on Monday, January 16."
In the early hours of December 4, Kyiv criminal investigation police supported by a KORD special task force, conducted a special operation to arrest robbers in the village of Knyazhychi. During the operation, a unit of the State Guard Service, which responded to burglary alarm in one of the neighboring houses, arrived on the scene. The SGO officers have detained two operatives who took part in the raid. Their detention triggered a shootout between the two police units in which five law enforcers were killed. The actual robbers were detained as they headed to Kyiv.
Prosecutor-General Yuriy Lutsenko on December 6 said that the PGO investigators see "signs of gross negligence" in the actions of those who coordinated the operation, which led to grave consequences.