Mukacheve shootout began after Right Sector fighters opened fire - Ukrainian Interior Ministry

09:26, 13.07.2015 1 min read

According to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, fighters from Right Sector were the first to open fire during a shootout in Mukacheve on Saturday, says Artem Shevchenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Interior Ministry.

"According to the data at the Interior Ministry, it was the RS fighters shown on the video footage who were the first to open fire during the incident in Mukacheve: they shot a civilian whose body was later loaded into their vehicle. Only then had the police squad been called in," he wrote on his Facebook page, citing a video from the scene, which was posted earlier.

The squad included law enforcers with combat experience, who fought in eastern Ukraine and took part in the battle of Debaltseve in the winter of 2015, the spokesman said. "In full compliance with the law, the policemen were compelled to enter an armed confrontation with the assailants who were posing a threat to public safety," Shevchenko stressed.