GENICHESK, June 5. /TASS/. Seven people were killed and ten injured in a shootout between a Ukrainian territorial defense brigade, part of the country’s armed forces, and Ukrainian national guard officers in a residential neighborhood of Kherson, which is under the control of Kiev, a regional emergency services source familiar with the situation told journalists on Monday.

"Five servicemen of the Ukrainian armed forces were killed and seven were seriously wounded in the exchange of gunfire," the source said. "Two officers from the Ukrainian national guard were killed and three were wounded," he added.

According to the source, the national guard officers had received information that the Ukrainian military personnel were engaged in organized theft from stores while "under the commercial protection" of law enforcement agencies. A task force was dispatched to detain them, but the Ukrainian servicemen offered armed resistance.

The incident involved military from the 123rd territorial defense brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces and the 16th separate battalion of the Ukrainian national guard.