Ukraine Security Clash
Kyiv Security Clash Exposes Deep Interagency Feud And Prompts Zelensky Firings
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Key Points
1
Zelensky fired Oleh Khramov, the SBU's head of the department responsible for protecting state secrets, signaling high-level dissatisfaction with how the incident unfolded.
2
EUobserver reports that video evidence and accounts suggest only the SBU fired during the incident, implying an asymmetrical exchange rather than a mutual shootout.
3
Stepan Kaplunov says his confession was coerced and that he was abducted and blindfolded on a street, then taken to an unknown location by individuals who later appeared to be SBU operatives.
4
The SBU reportedly deployed its Alpha special forces unit to intervene during the arrest/search operation, with reports that armed individuals blocked officers’ cars.
A rare shootout between Ukraine's two main spy agencies erupted on Kyiv streets on September 2, leaving at least three officers wounded and exposing a dangerous rift in the country's security apparatus. The New York Times reported that the clash involved the domestic SBU and the military intelligence service HUR, centered on Stepan Kaplunov, a deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps. The Guardian noted that President Zelensky condemned the incident as "absolutely disgraceful," firing the SBU's state-secrets chief and asserting that Ukrainian guns should only target Russian occupiers.
The confrontation exposed competing claims about who acted lawfully. The SBU said it was conducting a pre-trial search tied to a Kremlin-backed plot. But Kaplunov and HUR-linked sources alleged the SBU had abducted and coerced him. National Security Journal described the clash as one of the most dramatic public displays of interagency tension in years, raising questions about whether Ukraine's security system can function amid war.
Nine Days of Detention and a Forced Confession
Kaplunov vanished on August 23 when plainclothes men grabbed him near his home. He says he was blindfolded, threatened, and held in a secret location for nine days. In a later statement via Radio NV, he claimed his confession was extracted under duress. He alleged interrogators told him he could "disappear forever" if he didn't cooperate.
Only the SBU Opened Fire, Evidence Suggests
EUobserver reported that video evidence and witness accounts suggest only SBU forces fired during the incident. This challenges claims of a mutual shootout between the two agencies. The SBU deployed its elite Alpha special forces unit to intervene during the search operation. AOL reported that armed individuals blocked SBU officers' cars, prompting the armed response.
Zelensky Fires Top SBU Official and Demands Answers
President Zelensky signed Decree No. 600/2026 on September 2, dismissing Oleh Khramov, the SBU's head of the department for protecting state secrets. Zelensky's swift action signaled deep displeasure with how the agency handled the operation. He stated plainly: "Shooting here, in Ukraine, is permitted only against Russian occupiers. No other shootout will ever be regarded by our state as something anyone is allowed to do."
The firing was one of the fastest consequences of the incident. National Security Journal noted that both the state prosecutor and the Bureau of Investigation opened criminal proceedings into the alleged abduction and armed clash.
Deep Cracks in Ukraine's Security Structure
The clash revealed longstanding rivalries between the SBU and HUR over jurisdiction and power. But this time, the feud turned violent on Kyiv's streets. Kyrylo Budanov, head of the presidential office and former HUR chief, told RBC-Ukraine: "No one has the right to abduct military personnel with impunity, open fire on the streets of our cities, or issue and carry out criminal orders." The incident raises questions about whether Ukraine's security agencies can work together during a war.
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