A shootout between two of Ukraine’s top intelligence agencies has injured at least three security officials, highlighting internal divisions within kyiv’s security establishment. On Wednesday morning, a shootout broke out between the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine (HUR), a military arm that handles foreign intelligence, and the State Security Service (SBU), which focuses on domestic intelligence and counterterrorism activities. “an absolutely shameful situation.” What is behind the dispute between the SBU and the HUR, and what importance does it have? What happened? According to Ukrainian media reports, the incident between kyiv’s main intelligence agencies took place in the capital’s Dniprovskyi district after the SBU detained Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) fighting for Ukraine. RVC is a subordinate of HUR. Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement that SBU officers had received orders from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) to prevent a “terrorist act.” “During a search at one of the addresses, a group of individuals carried out an armed attack against the SBU operational research group,” the statement added. “They tried to prevent investigative actions and blocked the passage of law enforcement officers with cars,” the statement said, adding that the attackers belonged to “one of the units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.” According to local media reports, the attackers were part of the HUR. Ukraine’s presidential advisor Dmytro Lytvyn also confirmed the involvement of the SBU and HUR in the shooting. But the commander of the HUR 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 it was the SBU who opened fire on the HUR officers at the scene. Taras Borovskyi, a lawyer representing Kaplunov, told Ukrainska Pravda that a HUR officer was shot in the leg, bled and hospitalized. The second officer, he said, is also in serious condition in the hospital, while the third officer is only slightly injured. Who is Stepan Kaplunov? Kaplunov is a native of Russia 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 been defending Ukraine in its war with Russia ever since. While Kaplunov is still a Russian citizen, Moscow added him to its list. of “terrorists and extremists” due to their support for Ukraine. Kaplunov told Radio NV on Thursday that he was kidnapped and interrogated over suspicions that he might be in contact with Russia’s FSB Security Service, according to The New Voice of Ukraine. How have Zelenskyy and his government responded? In a statement on Telegram, Ukraine’s president said he had spoken with the country’s prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, who is investigating the incident with the State Bureau of Investigation. “There must be accountability, including for the personal decisions of the heads of the security services regarding the individuals involved, and internal investigations must be carried out within both agencies,” he said in the statement. “Here in Ukraine, the only time shooting can be done is at the Russian occupiers in defense of the country. Our state will never tolerate any other type of shooting as if it were permissible,” he added. Secrets. Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office and former member of the HUR, called for a “thorough and impartial investigation,” according to the RBC-Ukraine news agency. “It is important to guarantee a thorough and impartial investigation, but no one has the right to kidnap soldiers with impunity, open fire in the streets of our cities, give and execute criminal orders,” he said. in the midst of the escalating war with Russia. In January of this year, Zelenskyy removed Vasyl Maliuk as head of the SBU, shifting him to focus directly on war 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. “Ukraine needs greater focus on security issues, the development of the Ukrainian Defense and Security Forces, as well as on the diplomatic track of negotiations and the Office of the President will primarily serve for the fulfillment of these tasks of our state,” Zelenskyy had said. In July, Zelenskyy also fired Oleksandr Syrskii as the country’s commander-in-chief, appointing Mykhailo Drapatyi to lead the army. The move came after six days of protests in the capital, kyiv, sparked by the dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who had previously clashed with Syrskii. According to a report by Carnegie Politika, the media and analysis platform of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin, Zelenskyy’s security shake-up “suggests a deliberate effort to strengthen political coordination between the institutions that control coercive power.” Ukraine’s anti-corruption remains to be seen, but the personnel changes clearly strengthen the presidential administration’s ability to shape the relationship between security services and Ukraine’s law enforcement architecture,” the report adds. Zelenskyy’s allies have also been accused of corruption. The agencies, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), released video and audio recordings in which the group appears to use nicknames and code words to discuss bribes and kickbacks worth tens of millions of dollars. Zelenskyy, whose anti-corruption presidential campaign resonated with voters in 2019, tried to curb the autonomy of both agencies in July after they opened investigations into his allies and former business partners But he backed down after massive popular protests.
