Armed confrontation between the SBU and the GUR in kyiv on the night of September 1-2

What happened on Yuri-Shoumsky Street in kyiv, on the night of Tuesday September 1 to Wednesday September 2? Ukraine is stunned after the confrontation between two armed groups, filmed in the Berezniaky district. The protagonists are not criminals, but soldiers working for the security of the country, in two important services. The scene, captured by video surveillance cameras, was described as “scandalous” by President Volodomyr Zelensky. The leader blamed agents of the security service – the SBU, attached to the Ministry of the Interior – and military intelligence – the GUR, attached to Defense.

The SBU, at dawn on Tuesday, first mentioned an operation carried out jointly with the GUR, in order to prevent a terrorist attack planned by Russia. Without convincing. Four hours later, the service explained that it had discovered the existence of a planned attack, under the aegis of the Russian FSB, directed "against a leader of the Russian opposition movement", whose arrival in Ukraine was scheduled for the country's independence day. It was as part of its investigation, while collecting evidence, that the SBU was confronted with a group of men, disrupting its work. The press release relates that men from its elite “Alpha” unit were therefore called in as reinforcements and to “neutralize the armed resistance”, and that they used their weapons.

A war of security agencies that leaves a mark

The GUR was quickly identified by the Ukrainian press, which made it possible to make a link between this affair and the case of Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps. This group of fighters, founded by neo-Nazi activist Denis Nikitin, fights for Ukraine under the command of military intelligence and the Ministry of Defense. Stepan Kaplunov had been missing for several days, and his unit accused the SBU of having kidnapped him.

Taras Borovsky, Stepan Kaplounov's lawyer, states in the media Slidstvo that his client was arrested by the SBU on August 23. The confrontation between the two agencies began Tuesday evening in front of his home, in his presence, as part of a search of this apartment "frequently used by various GUR fighters". Some raised the alarm, which led to the arrival of reinforcements, he explained to the media Suspilne, who had gone there. The situation remained blocked for hours until the arrival of men from the Alpha unit in the early morning and the shooting that followed. Three GUR agents were injured, according to the lawyer, and Stepan Kaplounov is free.

The SBU then published, on Wednesday, a screenshot of the messages allegedly exchanged with the Russian services, in order to prove the existence of an investigation into the soldier. And a confession video filmed under duress, according to his lawyer, who rejects the accusations brought by the SBU. This modestly evokes an “absolutely unacceptable conflict situation”, “resulting in shooting”. But he does not specify why the situation degenerated with the other group present on the scene. The GUR, for its part, has not yet delivered its version of the facts.