Zelenskiy opens inquiry after Kyiv street shootout between SBU and military intelligence leaves three injured
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced official inquiries and dismissals after an armed clash between the SBU security service and HUR military intelligence in central Kyiv left three officers wounded.
Armed confrontation in Kyiv
A violent clash between the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Defence Ministry's Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) unfolded in central Kyiv during the night between Tuesday and Wednesday. Armed agents from the SBU elite Alpha unit engaged in a standoff lasting several hours with a HUR special forces detachment outside a residential building. The confrontation escalated into an exchange of gunfire on the street, leaving three HUR personnel injured. Surveillance footage of the shooting circulated across Ukrainian media outlets shortly after the encounter.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy intervened on Wednesday, demanding that both agencies immediately cease armed hostilities against each other.
It is important that the truth come out. And that situations like this do not recur.
Origins of the dispute
The street shootout followed an SBU raid targeting the home of Stepan Kaplounov, deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK). The unit consists of Russian nationals fighting against Moscow under the command and operational oversight of the HUR. SBU officers conducted the search as part of an investigation into suspected ties between a volunteer commander and Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), alleging a Moscow-backed scheme to assassinate anti-Kremlin figures in Kyiv.
Prior to the raid, Kaplounov had disappeared for nine days while held in SBU custody. Kaplounov stated that SBU officers forced him to sign a confession admitting collaboration with Russian intelligence, a statement he subsequently retracted. When SBU operatives attempted to detain HUR agents who opposed the residential search, fighting broke out, with both security services disputing which side discharged weapons first.
Disciplinary actions and inquiries
Following the confrontation, Zelenskiy announced formal inquiries to establish full accountability for the incident. Prosecutors issued notices of suspicion to two servicemen, comprising one officer from the SBU and one from the HUR. Zelenskiy also dismissed Oleh Khramov, the head of the SBU department for the protection of state secrets, and confirmed that deputy directors from both agencies would lose their posts.
- SBU Alpha unit clashes with HUR forces during a residential search in Kyiv
- Zelenskiy orders SBU and HUR to cease hostilities as video of the street shootout emerges
- Zelenskiy announces an internal investigation and dismisses SBU department head Oleh Khramov
- A Kyiv court releases HUR serviceman Sergiy Ivanov with travel reporting conditions
The HUR released a public statement on Thursday describing the allegations as a disinformation campaign intended to discredit the military intelligence agency and its frontline combat units.
An assessment of the heads of these two agencies - the SBU and the HUR - will be made based on the results of an internal investigation. It is completely fair that both sides be brought to account. Both acted precisely in a way that should not have happened.
Judicial proceedings and institutional friction
On Friday, a Kyiv district court released Sergiy Ivanov, a HUR security member detained following the shootout, placing him under mandatory travel reporting requirements. An SBU officer implicated in the exchange of fire is scheduled to appear in court for separate proceedings.
Political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko connected the dispute to personal and political rivalries involving SBU chief Oleksandr Poklad and Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the presidential administration and former HUR director. The institutional clash follows other high-level leadership changes in Kyiv, including the replacement of the defense minister in July and the dismissal of Ukraine's ambassador to the United States in early August.
