The gunfight between special forces units in Kiev is said to have originated from conflicts and competition between Ukraine's two leading intelligence agencies.
Alpha special unit of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on the night of September 1 exchanged gunfire with special forces of the General Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR). The incident injured at least three GUR officers, casualties on the SBU side are unknown.
A Ukrainian intelligence source said that the shootout began when GUR agents tried to rescue a member being held by the SBU.
According to Kyiv Independent, the incident is related to Stepan Kaplunov, a Russian citizen with anti-Kremlin views. Kaplunov is the deputy commander of the RVC paramilitary force, a unit under the GUR whose core components are Russian citizens fighting alongside the Ukrainian army.
Kaplunov's lawyer and Ukrainian officials said the SBU took him to the apartment of an RVC member and prepared to search. RVC members tried to stop SBU forces and called for more reinforcements.
Armed officers from the SBU and GUR then gathered around the building, confronting each other throughout the evening. The first shots rang out at around 11:00 p.m. on September 1, and the two sides continued to exchange gunfire on the morning of September 2.
A source told the Washington Examiner that the SBU opened an investigation into Kaplunov based on the information they received, commenting that the clash was evidence of widespread breakdown in the Ukrainian security system. "The situation is completely chaotic," this person added.
The SBU gave a different explanation, claiming that officers were conducting an "emergency search related to an attack plot by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB)", but were obstructed by a group of armed people. The SBU had to dispatch the Alpha special unit to the scene, arresting 3 people from a Ukrainian military unit.
SBU previously announced that it had coordinated with GUR to prevent an assassination attempt on "a symbol of the Russian opposition movement present in Ukraine". GUR also posted similar information, but quickly removed it.
No agency has clearly explained the connection between Kaplunov and the assassination plot that Russia allegedly carried out, nor the reason why the special forces units that were supposed to participate in the joint operation turned to gunfire with each other.
Kaplunov's lawyer said his client is no longer detained, but his whereabouts are unknown and authorities have not announced the legal basis for the arrest decision.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the gunfight a "completely shameful, unacceptable act" and demanded an investigation. Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of Staff of the President of Ukraine and former director of GUR, called for a "comprehensive and fair" investigation, emphasizing that "no one has the right to unjustly arrest servicemen and open fire on the streets."
The clash raised doubts about GUR director Oleh Ivashchenko's ability to control his subordinates, especially those units that still maintain close ties with his predecessor Budanov. A source said Mr. Ivashchenko will likely be dismissed.
Sources familiar with the matter confirm that Chief of Staff Budanov still maintains influence within GUR through trusted people, including Timur, commander of the special unit in charge of managing RVC.
They believe that the source of fierce competition between Ukraine's two leading intelligence agencies comes from the disagreement between Kyrylo Budanov and acting SBU director Oleksandr Poklad. "The two of them had conflicts from before and have continued until now. Things calmed down after personnel changes, but the incident on September 2 exposed everything," one person said.
SBU was established after Ukraine declared independence in 1991, inheriting most of the personnel, facilities and infrastructure of the Soviet branch of the State Security Committee (KGB) in this country. This is Ukraine's key domestic security agency, in charge of counterintelligence and anti-terrorism activities, receives direct direction from the President and is considered a regular military force.
GUR belongs to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, established in September 1992 on the basis of units of the General Directorate of Military Intelligence of the Soviet Union in the Kiev, Odessa and Carpathian military districts. GUR is in charge of collecting intelligence information and is staffed with many special units.
This is not the first time the conflict between SBU and GUR has led to bloody clashes.
SBU officers in March 2022 shot and killed Denys Kireyev, a GUR agent who participated in the first round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. The SBU suspected Kireyev of treason, while the GUR honored him as an "intelligence officer who died while on a special mission". Kireyev's death was later assessed as a consequence of lack of coordination between the two intelligence agencies.
After the outbreak of the conflict, the SBU and GUR both received large amounts of weapons, additional combat units and had great autonomy in operations.
Competition between the two agencies helps Ukraine carry out bold campaigns, but also leads to competition for personnel, resources and credit in the media. "The shooting in Kiev shows the danger when the rivalry between two heavily armed intelligence agencies breaks out into a clash," commented Washington Examiner writer Ani Chkhikvadze.
