Clashes between soldiers in Kiev, three injured

In the images released after the incident that took place in the capital Kiev on Wednesday morning, soldiers were seen stationed on the streets of the capital. Three people were injured in the conflict.

While the exact cause of the dispute has not yet been clarified, Ukrainian media reported that the incident was linked to the case of Deputy Commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps Stepan Kaplunov.

The Russian Volunteer Corps, fighting alongside Ukrainian forces, consists of far-right Russian militants opposed to the Kremlin administration.

KIDNAPPING OF KAPLUNOV

The Russian Volunteer Corps announced in a statement on Tuesday that Kaplunov was kidnapped from in front of his house by unidentified people. The organization management requested help from the Ukrainian Security Service and military intelligence to find Kaplunov.

In its statement on Wednesday morning, the SBU claimed that a Russian-origin assassination plan against "one of the leaders of the Russian political opposition movement" was prevented. Ukrainian media later reported that the person in question was Kaplunov.

In its second statement published a few hours later, SBU announced that its personnel conducting the investigation into the assassination attempt were attacked with guns.

According to the claims of the British newspaper The Telegraph, SBU announced that gunmen opened fire on the investigation team trying to conduct a search in a building in the capital.

In the SBU statement, it was claimed that the armed people "tried to obstruct the investigation process and prevent the passage of security forces."

It was noted that after the investigation, it was determined that the people in question belonged to a unit within the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

ZELENSKY ASKED FOR AN EXPLANATION

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's communications advisor, Dmytro Litvin, told reporters that the gunmen were affiliated with the Ukrainian Military Intelligence Directorate (HUR).

Litvin also stated that Zelenskiy instructed both institutions to publicly disclose the circumstances of the incident.

Kaplunov's fate and whereabouts are not yet known.

Kirilo Budanov, the former head of the Military Intelligence Directorate and currently the head of Zelenskiy's office, said the following in his statement about the incident:

"It is important to ensure that a full and impartial investigation is conducted. No one has the right to kidnap soldiers with impunity, open fire on the streets of our cities, or give or carry out criminal orders."

TENSION IS NOT NEW

The latest conflict has revived past disagreements between Ukraine's two security institutions.

In 2023, when he was head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, Budanov accused the SBU of murdering banker Denis Kireyev, who worked with the intelligence agency.

It was claimed that Kireyev had obtained intelligence about Russia's plans to capture Kiev at the beginning of the war.

However, Kireyev, who was later accused of being a double agent, was shot in the head and his body was thrown out of a vehicle in the center of Kiev.