Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has strongly condemned an armed clash between members of the country's Security Service (SBU) and its Defence Intelligence Unit (DIU) in Kyiv, an incident that occurred while a Russian terrorist plot was reportedly being foiled.
"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," Zelensky stated on Telegram. "Here in Ukraine, the only permissible use of firearms is against Russian occupiers in defense of the country. Our state will never tolerate any other kind of shootout as something permissible."
The SBU claimed its officers came under an "armed attack" from DIU agents while attempting to thwart a "terrorist act orchestrated by the Russian FSB [Federal Security Service]." According to the SBU's account, the DIU agents "attempted to obstruct the investigative actions and used vehicles to block the law enforcement officers’ path."
Weapons and documents were seized from the DIU agents, the SBU reported. Three officers were injured during the confrontation, with one DIU agent suffering a severed artery after being shot in the leg. Another officer sustained serious injuries, and a third had less severe wounds.
The SBU further alleged that the ambush occurred while they were foiling a plot to assassinate Stepan Kaplunov, identified as the deputy commander of the anti-Kremlin Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC). The RVC, through its chief of staff Aleksandr Fortuna, had previously reported that Kaplunov had been abducted by unknown individuals from his courtyard.
Taras Borovskyi, Kaplunov's lawyer, has disputed the SBU's narrative, calling it a "PR stunt." He reiterated claims that Kaplunov had been kidnapped and later released, though his current whereabouts are unknown. Kaplunov, a former Russian army officer who served in Syria, has been fighting for Ukraine since 2014. He was part of the Azov Brigade between 2014 and 2016 following Russia's annexation of Crimea and joined volunteer defense forces after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, sustaining injuries in the Irpin and Bucha regions. Kaplunov is listed on Russia's terrorist and extremist register.
In the wake of the incident, Zelensky dismissed Oleh Khramov, an SBU official who had led Ukraine's Department for the Protection of State Secrets since March 2023. The notes do not specify whether Khramov's dismissal is directly linked to the shootout.