Armed conflict between security agencies in Kyiv, Zelensky calls it “an absolute disgrace

A violent armed confrontation between Ukraine’s two main security institutions erupted in the heart of the capital during an operation investigating an alleged Russian plot to target a Russian opposition figure.

The clash involved agents from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and officers from the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR), in a case centered on Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), a formation fighting alongside Ukrainian forces against Moscow.

The SBU had previously announced that it had thwarted an alleged terrorist attack orchestrated by Russia’s FSB security service against Kaplunov. A source from the Ukrainian military confirmed that the target of the plot was the RVC commander himself.

Kaplunov had travelled to Ukraine to take part in Independence Day ceremonies on August 24, while on September 1 the RVC reported that he had been “forcibly taken by unidentified individuals from the courtyard of his residence.”

But this account of events was openly challenged by HUR spokespeople and Kaplunov’s legal representative.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, SBU officers were attacked by members of a unit of Ukraine’s Defence Forces while conducting investigative activities related to the alleged plot.

“During investigative actions in the case of the FSB terrorist act, an armed assault against SBU officers took place,” the prosecution service said, clarifying that weapons were used after officials encountered “armed resistance.”

Presidential adviser Dmytro Litvin confirmed the involvement of both agencies in the incident. According to him, President Volodymyr Zelensky immediately summoned the heads of the SBU and HUR to a meeting and ordered that the public be informed of the situation.

However, the commander of the HUR’s special “Timur” unit, which also includes the Russian Volunteer Corps, offered an entirely different version. In a video distributed by Radio Free Europe, he claimed that Kaplunov had been “abducted in broad daylight” by SBU agents and held without any charges.

According to the commander, after talks between the parties and an agreement on legal procedures, the SBU began arresting HUR representatives. He accused SBU officers of opening fire on unarmed military intelligence personnel.

Kaplunov’s lawyer, Taras Borovsky, reported that several HUR officers were wounded during the armed clash. Two of them, he said, were hospitalized in critical condition.

“One of them was shot in the leg, severing an artery and causing significant blood loss. He is in very serious condition in hospital. The second is also hospitalized in serious condition. The third has superficial wounds,” Borovsky detailed.

The lawyer, who said he was at the scene, also accused the SBU of carrying out a nighttime raid on Kaplunov’s apartment without his legal presence and without a court warrant.

Borovsky also cast doubt on the chronology, pointing out that Kaplunov had been deprived of his freedom since August 23, while the search of the apartment was conducted on September 1. He stressed that he had still not been informed of the reasons for his client’s detention.

The legal representative also rejected the claim that the SBU had prevented an assassination attempt against Kaplunov, describing the statement as an attempt to legitimize an unlawful arrest.

According to Borovsky, Kaplunov was later released, but his whereabouts remained unclear.

President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted sharply to the incident, condemning it as “an absolutely shameful situation.”

He said that Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko and the State Bureau of Investigation would launch an investigation to establish the circumstances of the incident.

The president warned that those responsible must be held accountable, while leaving open the possibility of changes among the leadership of the security services and internal investigations within the SBU and HUR.

“Here, in Ukraine, you are allowed to shoot only at the Russian occupiers, while defending our land,” Zelensky declared, stressing that no other armed confrontation between Ukrainian structures could be tolerated.

Following the incident, Zelensky signed a decree dismissing Oleg Khramov, head of the department for the protection of state secrets at the SBU.

The case has also brought earlier conflicts between Ukrainian security agencies back into the spotlight.

In March 2022, banker Denis Kireyev, who had cooperated with military intelligence and taken part in peace negotiations with Russia, was found dead in central Kyiv.

In 2023, the then head of the HUR, Kirill Budanov, said that Kireyev had been executed by SBU agents during an operation directed against him.

His death was later attributed by the presidential administration to a lack of coordination between the intelligence services during the first days of the Russian aggression.

The latest incident between the SBU and HUR comes as Ukraine continues its conflict with Russia, raising fresh concerns about clashes and cooperation between its security institutions.