Ukraine military intelligence chief calls Kyiv SBU–HUR shooting "unacceptable," denies "war between special services"
Head of Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) Oleh Ivashchenko publicly commented on the September 2 shooting between SBU and HUR personnel in Kyiv, calling it an "unacceptable incident" and rejecting suggestions of a "war between special services." The shooting occurred in the Berezniaky district during investigative actions linked to Russian Volunteer Corps deputy commander Stepan Kaplunov. The SBU and HUR have given competing accounts of the incident, and the State Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Prosecutor General have opened pretrial investigations.
Key points
- HUR head Oleh Ivashchenko called the September 2 Kyiv shooting "unacceptable" and said responsibility should be personal, not collective: "no corporate immunity, but also no collective guilt."
- He rejected the characterization of a "war between special services" and said there are no grounds to extrapolate one incident onto state institutions as a whole.
- The shooting occurred on the night of September 2 in Kyiv's Berezniaky district (Yurii Shumsky Street) during investigative actions tied to RDK deputy commander Stepan Kaplunov's case.
- The SBU said it jointly with HUR thwarted an FSB-linked terrorist plot against a Russian opposition figure who had arrived for Independence Day; media later identified the target as Akhmed Zakayev.
- The State Bureau of Investigation opened a pretrial investigation into the SBU–HUR confrontation, and the Office of the Prosecutor General opened one into threats and attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.
- On September 4, a court released on personal recognizance the SBU and HUR personnel directly involved in the confrontation.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky called the incident disgraceful and said the heads of the special services must make personnel decisions and conduct internal investigations.
Why it matters
The episode marked an unprecedented armed confrontation between Ukraine's two principal security and intelligence agencies during wartime, prompting high-level political concern about inter-agency coordination, internal accountability and oversight of the special services. It is intertwined with a broader counterintelligence investigation involving the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) and an alleged Russian FSB assassination plot on Ukrainian soil, and with claims of disinformation campaigns targeting HUR. The way Kyiv resolves the standoff will shape both operational coordination against Russia and public confidence in the institutions conducting that fight.
What happened
On the night of September 2, a shooting occurred in Kyiv's Berezniaky district on Yurii Shumsky Street during investigative actions related to the case of Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK). The RDK had reported Kaplunov's disappearance on September 1. The SBU said it and HUR had jointly prevented an FSB-linked terrorist attack against a Russian opposition leader who had arrived in Ukraine for Independence Day, and media later identified the intended target as Akhmed Zakayev, head of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria government-in-exile. The SBU said its officers were attacked during a search in Kaplunov's apartment by individuals from one of the units of Ukraine's Defense Forces, and that its Alpha special unit responded with weapons, leaving some of the attackers wounded; HUR's "Tymur" unit commander countered that SBU officers had "kidnapped in broad daylight" a HUR combat commander and held him without formal charges. The State Bureau of Investigation opened a pretrial investigation into the SBU–HUR confrontation, and the Office of the Prosecutor General opened one into threats and an attempt on the life of a law enforcement officer. On September 3, the SBU released video and screenshots in which Kaplunov allegedly admitted contacts with the Russian FSB and said he had been preparing an assassination; Kaplunov denies cooperation with Russian special services and says his admissions were coerced under pressure. On September 4, a court released on personal recognizance the SBU and HUR personnel who had directly participated in the confrontation. President Volodymyr Zelensky called the incident disgraceful and demanded personnel decisions and internal investigations in both services. On September 7, HUR head Oleh Ivashchenko gave his first public comments on the affair in an interview with Ukrinform.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All supplied sources are Ukrainian outlets — Ukrainian-language media and the Ukrinform agency — which frame the story through the lens of domestic institutional accountability and the wartime relevance of SBU–HUR coordination. Coverage centers official Ukrainian actors: Ivashchenko (HUR), the SBU, the DBR, the Office of the Prosecutor General, President Zelensky, and Verkhovna Rada committee secretary Roman Kostenko, who said two special services in a country at war should not be resolving their issues by shooting at each other in the center of the capital. Ukrainian outlets stress internal-investigation demands and the explicit denial of a "war between special services," and they foreground the alleged FSB plot against a visiting Russian opposition figure, presenting the episode as a counterintelligence success story while airing competing claims about Kaplunov's FSB contacts.
Where reporting differs
Sources disagree on who the alleged FSB plot targeted: media initially linked it to Kaplunov's case, later identified the figure as Akhmed Zakayev, while the SBU alleged Kaplunov himself was preparing the attempt. Kaplunov denies cooperation with the FSB and says his admissions were coerced under pressure, while the SBU released video and screenshots asserting he admitted FSB contacts and an assassination plan. The two services also gave conflicting accounts of how the September 2 confrontation unfolded: the SBU says its officers were attacked by members of a Ukrainian Defense Forces unit during a search and that Alpha special forces responded with weapons; HUR's "Tymur" unit commander says SBU officers "kidnapped in broad daylight" a HUR combat commander and held him without charges. Sources also differ on when Kaplunov was abducted: his statements variously place it on August 23 by operatives posing as law enforcement or on September 1 by unknown persons in his building's courtyard.
Background
The RDK reported the disappearance of its deputy combat commander Stepan Kaplunov in Kyiv on September 1. A shooting followed on the night of September 2 in the Berezniaky district during investigative actions connected to his case. The SBU said it and HUR had jointly thwarted an FSB-linked terrorist plot against a Russian opposition figure visiting Ukraine for Independence Day; media later identified the intended target as Akhmed Zakayev. On September 4 a court released on personal recognizance the SBU and HUR personnel directly involved in the confrontation. President Zelensky publicly called the incident disgraceful and demanded personnel decisions and internal investigations.