Budanov
Kyrylo Budanov is a Ukrainian military intelligence officer who has served as head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine since 2020. He is one of the senior figures in Ukraine's military intelligence apparatus and a frequent public commentator on security and battlefield developments.
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Shootings between SBU and military intelligence in Kyiv wound three HUR fighters
Two shooting incidents involving the SBU and military intelligence (HUR) occurred on the night of September 1 and the morning of September 2 in the courtyard of the Kyiv apartment building of Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) deputy commander Stepan Kaplunov. Three HUR fighters were wounded. The State Bureau of Investigation is probing the case; one SBU officer and one HUR serviceman have been notified of suspicion, and President Zelensky has announced dismissals of deputies of the heads of both agencies.
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Shooting between SBU and HUR in Kyiv leads to dismissals and dismissal announcements at top of both services
On the night of 1 September into the morning of 2 September 2026, a shooting on Yurii Shumskoho Street in Kyiv's Berezniaky district brought the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and military intelligence (HUR) into an armed confrontation during investigative actions at the apartment of Stepan Kaplunov, deputy combat commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), who had been missing since 23 August. Three HUR servicemembers were wounded. President Volodymyr Zelensky called the incident "absolutely shameful," signed a decree dismissing Oleh Khramov from the SBU Department of State Secrets Protection and Licensing, and announced that deputies of the heads of both the SBU and HUR would also be dismissed. On 3 September, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said two participants — an SBU officer and a HUR servicemember — had been served with notices of suspicion.
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Ukraine's military intelligence warns of disinformation campaign amid clash with SBU
On 3 September, Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) said a targeted disinformation campaign is being rolled out to discredit military intelligence and its combat units. The warning came the day after an armed shootout in Kyiv between HUR-affiliated personnel and SBU operatives linked to the detention of Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps, who is accused by the SBU of ties to Russia's FSB.
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Ukraine's SBU says it foiled alleged FSB plot to kill Chechen exile Zakayev; shootout with GUR in Kyiv sparks inter-agency crisis
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) announced on 3 September that it had prevented an alleged FSB-ordered plot to assassinate Akhmed Zakayev, the exiled head of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria's government, who had travelled to Kyiv for Independence Day on 24 August. The SBU named Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) deputy commander Stepan Kaplunov as the alleged organizer. The case triggered a shootout between SBU and military intelligence (GUR) operatives in Kyiv's Berezniaky district on 2 September that left three GUR personnel wounded, and has escalated into an open clash between the two agencies over who is telling the truth about what happened.
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SBU says its officers were attacked during FSB-terror probe in Kyiv; attackers found to be members of Ukraine's Defense Forces
Ukraine's SBU security service says its operational-investigative group was attacked during a search in a case involving an FSB-planned terrorist act against a Russian opposition figure in Kyiv. The SBU's Alpha special unit opened fire on the attackers, some of whom were wounded before being detained. The SBU later said the detained individuals belonged to a unit of Ukraine's Defense Forces. Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov said the State Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Prosecutor General are handling the situation.
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Trump says ready to meet Putin, but only when Russia and Ukraine are ready to conclude a peace deal
On 2 September 2025, US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he is willing to hold a new summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but only once Russia and Ukraine are ready to conclude a peace agreement. He said he could organise the meeting "immediately" but wants to wait, and again blamed personal hostility between Presidents Zelensky and Putin as the main obstacle to a deal. The remarks came amid a broader US push that included CIA Director John Ratcliffe's late-August trip to Moscow and a G20 meeting between US and Russian finance ministers.
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Armed clash between SBU and military intelligence erupts in Kyiv during search tied to Russian Volunteer Corps figure
An armed confrontation between officers of Ukraine's SBU and HUR military intelligence broke out overnight on September 2, 2026, in Kyiv's Berezniaky neighborhood, leaving three HUR servicemen wounded. The incident, linked to the case of RDK deputy combat commander Stepan Kaplunov, has prompted President Zelensky to demand explanations and dismiss a senior SBU official.
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Zelensky dismisses senior SBU official after GUR–SBU shootout in Kyiv
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on 2 September dismissing Oleh Vitaliyovych Khramov from the post of head of the SBU's Department of State Secrets Protection and Licensing. The dismissal follows an armed clash between personnel of Ukraine's military intelligence (GUR) and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in Kyiv's Dnipro district, connected to the reported abduction of Russian Volunteer Corps deputy commander Stepan Kaplunov. Zelensky publicly framed the episode as unacceptable and signaled further personnel accountability.