KIEV: Five Ukrainian police officers were killed in ‘friendly fire’ when officers mistook colleagues for burglars, officials said on Sunday. Three burglars initially escaped the crime scene amid a gunfight between different security forces – although they were later detained. “Last night a devastating tragedy took place that killed five police officers,” Advisor to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry Anton Gerashchenko wrote on Facebook. The regional police force confirmed the incident, while President Petro Poroshenko wrote on Twitter that ‘the causes of this painful tragedy must be investigated and all the guilty must be punished’. The deadly mix-up came as special police staked out a ‘dangerous gang of burglars’ in the small town of Knyazychy – some 30 kilometres east of Kiev, Gerashchenko said. Two undercover police from the criminal investigation department were watching the scene as special police prepared to detain the gang.