Two people were killed and one was hospitalized following a shootout in Sloviansk (Donetsk region) early on Thursday, the online news site slavgorod.com.ua has reported.

"A group of armed men was spotted this morning between Sloviansk and Sviatohirsk. A mobile group headed to the site from a roadblock. According to local self-defense representatives, it came under fire from a nearby forest. According to preliminary reports, two men were killed in a shootout, and some were injured. A man with a gunshot wound was admitted to Lenin Hospital at about 0930. Doctors are now fighting for his life," reads the statement.

Interfax-Ukraine has not yet obtained official confirmation of this report.