Internal Conflict Erupts in Kyiv as Top Ukrainian Intelligence Agencies Engage in Shootout

A shootout between two of Ukraine’s top intelligence agencies has wounded at least three security officials, highlighting internal divisions within Kyiv’s security establishment. On Wednesday morning, a gunfight broke out between Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR), a military arm which handles foreign intelligence, and the State Security Service (SBU), which focuses on domestic intelligence and counterterrorism activities. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the incident “an absolutely disgraceful situation”.

According to Ukrainian media reports, the incident between Kyiv’s top intel agencies took place in the capital’s Dniprovskyi district after the SBU took Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) that fights for Ukraine, into custody. RVC is a subordinate of HUR. Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement that SBU officers had received orders to prevent a “terrorist act” from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

“During a search at one of the addresses, a group of individuals carried out an armed attack on the SBU operational-investigative group,” the statement added. “They tried to prevent the conduct of investigative actions and blocked the passage of law enforcement officers with cars,” the statement noted, adding that the attackers belonged to “one of the units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine.” According to local media reports, the attackers were part of HUR.

Ukraine’s Presidential Adviser Dmytro Lytvyn also confirmed the involvement of SBU and HUR in the shootout. But the commander of HUR’s special unit “Timur,” in an interview with Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe, accused the SBU of kidnapping Kaplunov “in broad daylight”. The commander added that the SBU was the one which opened fire on HUR officers at the scene.

Taras Borovskyi, a lawyer representing Kaplunov, told Ukrainska Pravda that one HUR officer was shot in the leg, bleeding and in hospital. The second officer, he said, is also in a serious condition in the hospital, while the third officer is only slightly injured.

Kaplunov is a Russian native who moved to Ukraine after Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014, according to Ukrainian media reports. After serving in the Ukrainian armed forces, he joined the RVC in 2022 and has since been defending Ukraine in its war with Russia. While Kaplunov is still a Russian citizen, Moscow added him to its list of “terrorists and extremists” because of his support for Ukraine. Kaplunov told Radio NV on Thursday that he was abducted and interrogated over suspicions that he might be in touch with Russia’s FSB Security Service, according to The New Voice of Ukraine site.

In a statement on Telegram, Ukraine’s president said he had spoken to the country’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who is investigating the incident with the State Bureau of Investigation. “There must be accountability – including personnel decisions by the heads of the security services regarding the individuals involved – and internal investigations must be conducted within both agencies,” he said in the statement. “Here in Ukraine, the only time shots may be fired is at Russian occupiers in defence of the country. Our state will never tolerate any other kind of shootout as something permissible,” he added.

Zelenskyy has since dismissed Oleg Khramov, the head of the SBU’s Department for the Protection of State Secrets. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office and a former HUR member, called for a “thorough and impartial investigation,” according to the RBC-Ukraine news agency. “It is important to ensure a thorough and impartial investigation, but no one has the right to kidnap servicemen with impunity, open fire on the streets of our cities, give and carry out criminal orders,” he said.

The incident comes as Ukraine shakes up its security establishment amid the escalating war with Russia. In January this year, Zelenskyy removed Vasyl Maliuk as the head of SBU, shifting him to focus directly on warfare missions against Russia. Zelenskyy also named military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov as his new chief of staff and announced that Foreign Intelligence Service chief Oleh Ivashchenko will replace Budanov as head of the HUR. In July, Zelenskyy also fired Oleksandr Syrskii as the country’s commander-in-chief, appointing Mykhailo Drapatyi to lead the military.