KIEV, March 22 - Ukrainian soldiers shot dead one man and detained another who were trying to steal weapons from a military base in the city of Kharkiv, one of the venues for the Euro 2012 football championship, Reuters reported Thursday, citing police.

One soldier defending the radar base was killed and two others were injured after the two brothers, wearing masks and camouflaged uniforms, attacked troops with knives at around 4 a.m. local time (0200 GMT), police said in a statement.

The murdered soldier was a conscript and due to be discharged from the army in two weeks, news agency Unian quoted Deputy Prosecutor General Anatoly Prishko as saying.

One of the attackers had served in a special forces unit in Russia, Prishko added.