Large-scale layoffs have begun in the leadership of Ukraine's special services after a scandalous armed incident in the Dnipro district of Kiev. The president Volodymyr Zelensky officially announced that the deputy heads of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), who are responsible for the situation, will be dismissed from office. The head of state described the shootout as an “absolutely disgraceful situation“, in which both agencies acted in an unacceptable manner.
How did the clash between the SBU and the GUR come about?
The escalation is related to the detention and disappearance of Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander of the “Russian Volunteer Corps“ (RDK) – a unit of Russian citizens fighting on the side of Ukraine under the guise of military intelligence. The SBU announced that it had prevented an assassination attempt prepared by the Russian FSB against a Russian opposition leader in Kiev, accusing Kaplunov of collaborating with Moscow.
The conflict broke out on “Yuri Shumsky“ Street, when SBU officers took Kaplunov for investigative actions to his apartment, where, however, fighters associated with the GUR were waiting for them. The situation quickly got out of control, and the SBU special forces “Alpha“ were called in and a shooting ensued, in which three GUR intelligence officers were wounded.
The first heads to fall in the gray sector
The investigation of the case was taken over by the State Bureau of Investigation (GBR) and the Office of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko. In parallel with the planned dismissals of deputy directors, Zelensky has already signed a decree on the removal of Oleg Khramov – head of the Department for the Protection of State Secrets and Licensing in the SBU.
The current head of the President's Office and former head of the GUR, Kirill Budanov, called for a full and impartial investigation, emphasizing that no one has the right to kidnap servicemen with impunity and open fire on the streets of Ukrainian cities. The positions of the structures involved remain radically opposed - the RDK claims that Kaplunov's confessions about ties to the FSB were extracted under physical pressure in order to discredit military intelligence.