Armed clash between SBU and military intelligence erupts in Kyiv during search tied to Russian Volunteer Corps figure

Why it matters

The confrontation exposed an open armed clash between two of Ukraine's most senior security and intelligence bodies inside the capital. Three intelligence officers were hospitalized, including one with a severed artery. President Zelensky publicly demanded explanations and personnel decisions, and dismissed a senior SBU official the same day. The incident occurred during ongoing Russian drone strikes on Kyiv, compounding the security strain on the city. Competing narratives from the two agencies indicate a deeper institutional rivalry that may affect coordination of counter-espionage and counter-terror work.

What happened

On the night of September 2 and the morning of the same day, an armed clash took place near building No. 10 on Yurii Shumskoho Street in the Berezniaky microdistrict of Kyiv's Dnipro district, involving representatives of the SBU (Ukraine's Security Service) and the HUR (Main Intelligence Directorate). According to the SBU's official account, the incident occurred during searches connected to a case aimed at preventing an FSB-planned terrorist attack against a leader of the Russian opposition national movement who had arrived in Ukraine for Independence Day. The SBU said a group tried to obstruct the operation and blocked law-enforcement vehicles with cars, prompting the deployment of its special unit "A" (Alpha), which used weapons.

Three HUR servicemen were injured, according to both GUR's spokesperson and Kaplunov's lawyer Taras Borovsky. Two are in serious condition, including one with a severed artery in his leg; the third has lighter injuries.

The confrontation is linked to the case of Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), a GUR-affiliated unit fighting on the Ukrainian side. On September 1, RDK chief of staff Oleksandr Fortuna publicly stated that Kaplunov had been abducted by unknown persons in a courtyard in Kyiv. According to Kaplunov's lawyer, the serviceman had been detained on August 23 by men who presented themselves as police, and a nighttime search of his apartment was conducted without a court order and without admitting the lawyer.

President Zelensky called the incident "absolutely shameful" and demanded that the SBU and HUR provide explanations, with heads of the special services expected to make personnel decisions regarding participants in the shooting. Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Office of the President, called for a "thorough and impartial" investigation, stating that the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) and the Office of the Prosecutor General are handling the case. President Zelensky also issued a decree dismissing senior SBU official Oleh Khramov. The Office of the Prosecutor General opened a case on the fact of an attempt on the life of a law-enforcement officer.

Kyiv City State Administration reported that traffic on Yurii Shumskoho Street was blocked off following the shooting. Ukrainska Pravda published video footage of part of the incident. The events unfolded while Russian Shahed jet drones were continuously audible over Kyiv and Ukrainian air defense was firing.

How Ukrainian sources describe it

Ukrainian sources center the shooting as an internal SBU-vs-HUR confrontation rather than a counter-terror success. Coverage heavily features Kaplunov's lawyer and RDK statements portraying the operation as an unlawful abduction and a flawed night search without a court order. Emphasis is placed on accountability: Zelensky's demand for explanations, the dismissal of senior SBU official Oleh Khramov, and Budanov's call for an "impartial" DBR/Prosecutor-General investigation. Analysts such as Mykhailo Samus are quoted laying out competing institutional narratives, framing the clash as a symptom of turf rivalry between the agencies. Background reporting situates the shooting against the same-night Russian Shahed drone raids on Kyiv, linking national security stress with the inter-agency breakdown.

Where reporting differs

Conflicting accounts exist over who opened fire and why: the SBU says Alpha used weapons after a group blocked its vehicles during a search tied to an FSB terror plot, while versions attributed to GUR supporters allege SBU officers came to plant evidence and kidnap a serviceman, prompting a rescue operation by the GUR "Tymur" unit.

The exact circumstances of Kaplunov's earlier detention are disputed: his lawyer describes it as an "abduction" starting August 23 by unidentified men, while the SBU frames the wider operation as a lawful counter-terror case; Kaplunov himself says he was held in a "secret prison," interrogated about FSB links, and eventually pressured into "fully agreeing" with the SBU's version.

Characterization of the overall event varies: some Ukrainian media emphasize an inter-agency turf war between SBU and HUR, while the SBU's own statement presents it as a successful joint counter-terror operation.

Background

The Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) is a unit fighting on the Ukrainian side that has been publicly linked to HUR's special-unit ecosystem; its deputy combat commander Stepan Kaplunov had previously gone missing. On September 1, 2026, RDK chief of staff Oleksandr Fortuna publicly stated Kaplunov had been "abducted by unknown persons in a courtyard" in Kyiv, days before the shooting. According to Kaplunov's lawyer, the serviceman had been detained on August 23, 2026, by men he described as presenting themselves as police, and the night of September 1–2 saw a search of his apartment conducted without a court order and without the lawyer being admitted. The SBU's official account frames the operation as preventive action against an FSB-planned terrorist attack against a leader of the Russian opposition national movement who had arrived in Ukraine for Independence Day.