The Ukrainian Interior Ministry has disbanded the Shakhtarsk special operations traffic police battalion after some of its officers were accused of looting, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov told one of the country's television stations.

"The Shakhtarsk battalion, which fought excellently near Ilovaisk, was disbanded on orders issued by the minister because it was involved in repeated instances of looting in Volnovakha and in other situations," Avakov was quoted as saying on Friday by Radio Liberty.

Regrettably, a mere 50 soldiers had brought dishonor upon the entire 700-strong battalion, he said.

Measures were taken to improve discipline in other special operations battalions, the minister said.

The Shakhtarsk battalion was formed by the Ukrainian Interior Ministry in the Dnipropetrovsk region in June 2014. It was named after the town of Shakhtarsk in the Donetsk region.