Ukrainian intel agencies in Kyiv firefight: What happened and why?

Three intelligence officers were wounded in shootout that Zelenskyy has described as ‘absolutely disgraceful’.

The Ukrainian national flag flies over the city, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine [File:Thomas Peter/Reuters]

A shootout between two of Ukraine’s top intelligence agencies has wounded at least three security officials, highlighting internal divisions within Kyiv’s security establishment.

On Wednesday morning, a gunfight broke out between Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR), a military arm which handles foreign intelligence, and the State Security Service (SBU), which focuses on domestic intelligence and counterterrorism activities.

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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the incident “an absolutely disgraceful situation”.

What’s behind the feud between SBU and HUR, and how significant is it?

According to Ukrainian media reports, the incident between Kyiv’s top intel agencies took place in the capital’s Dniprovskyi district after the SBU took Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) that fights for Ukraine, into custody. RVC is a subordinate of HUR.

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement that SBU officers had received orders to prevent a “terrorist act” from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

“During a search at one of the addresses, a group of individuals carried out an armed attack on the SBU operational-investigative group,” the statement added.

“They tried to prevent the conduct of investigative actions and blocked the passage of law enforcement officers with cars,” the statement noted, adding that the attackers belonged to “one of the units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine.” According to local media reports, the attackers were part of HUR.

Ukraine’s Presidential Adviser Dmytro Lytvyn also confirmed the involvement of SBU and HUR in the shootout.

But the commander of HUR’s special unit “Timur,” in an interview with Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe, accused the SBU of kidnapping Kaplunov “in broad daylight”.

The commander added that the SBU was the one which opened fire on HUR officers at the scene.

Taras Borovskyi, a lawyer representing Kaplunov, told Ukrainska Pravda that one HUR officer was shot in the leg, bleeding and in hospital. The second officer, he said, is also in a serious condition in the hospital, while the third officer is only slightly injured.

Who is Stepan Kaplunov?

Kaplunov is a Russian native who moved to Ukraine after Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014, according to Ukrainian media reports.

After serving in the Ukrainian armed forces, he joined the RVC in 2022 and has since been defending Ukraine in its war with Russia.

While Kaplunov is still a Russian citizen, Moscow added him to its list of “terrorists and extremists” because of his support for Ukraine.

Kaplunov told Radio NV on Thursday that he was abducted and interrogated over suspicions that he might be in touch with Russia’s FSB Security Service, according to The New Voice of Ukraine site.

How have Zelenskyy and his government responded?

In a statement on Telegram, Ukraine’s president said he had spoken to the country’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who is investigating the incident with the State Bureau of Investigation.

“There must be accountability – including personnel decisions by the heads of the security services regarding the individuals involved – and internal investigations must be conducted within both agencies,” he said in the statement.

“Here in Ukraine, the only time shots may be fired is at Russian occupiers in defence of the country. Our state will never tolerate any other kind of shootout as something permissible,” he added.

Zelenskyy has since dismissed Oleg Khramov, the head of the SBU’s Department for the Protection of State Secrets.

Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office and a former HUR member, called for a “thorough and impartial investigation,” according to the RBC-Ukraine news agency.

“It is important to ensure a thorough and impartial investigation, but no one has the right to kidnap servicemen with impunity, open fire on the streets of our cities, give and carry out criminal orders,” he said.

How significant is the recent security shakeup?

The incident comes as Ukraine shakes up its security establishment amid the escalating war with Russia.

In January this year, Zelenskyy removed Vasyl Maliuk as the head of SBU, shifting him to focus directly on warfare missions against Russia.

Zelenskyy also named military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov as his new chief of staff and announced that Foreign Intelligence Service chief Oleh Ivashchenko will replace Budanov as head of the HUR.

“Ukraine needs greater focus on security issues, the development of the Defence and Security Forces of Ukraine, as well as on the diplomatic track of negotiations, and the Office of the President will primarily serve the ‌fulfilment of these tasks of our state,” Zelenskyy had said.

In July, Zelenskyy also fired Oleksandr Syrskii as the country’s commander-in-chief, appointing Mykhailo Drapatyi to lead the military.

The move came after six days of protests in the capital, Kyiv, caused by the removal of Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov , who had previously clashed with Syrskii.

According to a report by Carnegie Politika, the media and analysis platform of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin, Zelenskyy’s security reshuffle “suggests a deliberate effort to tighten political coordination across the institutions that control coercive power”.

“The replacements come after anti-corruption investigations once again began reaching senior figures around the president, reviving tensions between the presidential administration and independent anti-corruption institutions,” the report noted.

“Whether this will translate into renewed pressure on the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine remains to be seen, but the personnel changes clearly strengthen the presidential administration’s ability to shape the relationship between the security services and Ukraine’s law-enforcement architecture,” the report added.

Zelenskyy’s allies have also been accused of corruption.

Last November, a corruption scandal involving Zelenskyy’s business partner, political allies and a cast of presumed wrongdoers who profited from a nuclear power monopoly roiled Ukraine.

The agencies, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), released video and audio recordings in which the group appears to use nicknames and codewords to discuss bribes and kickbacks amounting to tens of millions of dollars.

Zelenskyy, whose anticorruption presidential campaign resonated with voters in 2019, tried to curb the autonomy of both agencies in July after they opened investigations into his allies and former business partners. But he backed down after massive popular protests.

三名情报官员在枪战中受伤，泽连斯基称这场枪战“绝对可耻”。

在俄罗斯袭击乌克兰之际，乌克兰国旗在乌克兰首都基辅市中心飘扬。[图片来源：Thomas Peter/路透社]

乌克兰两大情报机构发生枪战，造成至少三名安全官员受伤，凸显了基辅安全机构内部的分歧。

周三上午，乌克兰负责对外情报的军事部门——乌克兰情报总局（HUR）与负责国内情报和反恐活动的国家安全局（SBU）之间爆发枪战。

欧盟三位部长之一齐聚爱尔兰，探讨以色列定居点贸易和乌克兰国防问题

俄罗斯将关闭歌德学院中心（共3个中心之一），德国紧张局势升级

列表 3/3 “僵局”：欧盟部长们未能打破以色列和乌克兰问题上的僵局

乌克兰总统泽连斯基称这一事件是“绝对可耻的局面”。

SBU 和 HUR 之间的不和背后有什么原因，又有多重要？

据乌克兰媒体报道，基辅两大情报机构之间的冲突发生在首都第聂伯罗夫斯基区，此前乌克兰国家安全局（SBU）逮捕了为乌克兰作战的俄罗斯志愿军（RVC）副指挥官斯捷潘·卡普卢诺夫。俄罗斯志愿军是乌克兰人民解放军（HUR）的下属组织。

乌克兰总检察长办公室在一份声明中表示，乌克兰国家安全局（SBU）官员接到俄罗斯联邦安全局（FSB）的命令，阻止“恐怖主义行为”。

声明还补充说：“在对其中一个地址进行搜查时，一群人对乌克兰国家安全局行动调查小组发动了武装袭击。”

声明指出，“他们试图阻止调查行动的进行，并用车辆阻挡执法人员的通行”，并补充说，袭击者隶属于“乌克兰国防军的某个单位”。据当地媒体报道，袭击者是乌克兰人民解放军（HUR）的成员。

乌克兰总统顾问德米特罗·利特温也证实了乌克兰国家安全局和乌克兰国家安全局参与了枪战。

但HUR特种部队“帖木儿”的指挥官在接受自由电台/自由欧洲电台采访时指责乌克兰国家安全局“光天化日之下”绑架了卡普卢诺夫。

指挥官补充说，是SBU向现场的HUR警员开火。

卡普卢诺夫的律师塔拉斯·博罗夫斯基告诉《乌克兰真理报》，一名乌克兰人权组织（HUR）警官腿部中弹，正在医院接受治疗。他说，第二名警官伤势也很严重，正在医院接受治疗，而第三名警官仅受轻伤。

斯捷潘·卡普卢诺夫是谁？

据乌克兰媒体报道，卡普卢诺夫是俄罗斯人，在莫斯科于 2014 年吞并克里米亚后移居乌克兰。

在乌克兰武装部队服役后，他于 2022 年加入俄罗斯志愿军，此后一直在乌克兰与俄罗斯的战争中保卫乌克兰。

尽管卡普卢诺夫仍是俄罗斯公民，但由于他支持乌克兰，莫斯科已将其列入“恐怖分子和极端分子”名单。

据乌克兰新之声网站报道，卡普卢诺夫周四告诉乌克兰新之声电台，他因被怀疑可能与俄罗斯联邦安全局有联系而被绑架和审讯。

泽连斯基及其政府对此作何回应？

乌克兰总统在 Telegram 上发表声明称，他已与该国总检察长鲁斯兰·克拉夫琴科通话，克拉夫琴科正与国家调查局一起调查这起事件。

他在声明中表示：“必须追究责任——包括安全部门负责人对涉事人员的人事决定——并且必须在两个机构内部进行内部调查。”

“在乌克兰，只有在保卫国家、抵抗俄罗斯占领者时才能开枪。我们的国家绝不容忍任何其他形式的枪战，”他补充道。

泽连斯基随后解雇了乌克兰国家安全局国家机密保护部门负责人奥列格·赫拉莫夫。

据 RBC-Ukraine 新闻社报道，乌克兰总统办公室主任、前 HUR 成员 Kyrylo Budanov 呼吁进行“彻底公正的调查”。

他说：“确保进行彻底公正的调查固然重要，但任何人都没有权利肆意绑架军人、在我们的城市街道上开枪、下达和执行犯罪命令而不受惩罚。”

近期安全部门的这次人事变动意义有多大？

此次事件发生之际，乌克兰正因与俄罗斯不断升级的战争而对其安全机构进行改组。

今年1月，泽连斯基解除了瓦西里·马柳克俄罗斯国家安全局局长的职务，让他直接专注于对俄罗斯的战争任务。

泽连斯基还任命军事情报局局长基里洛·布达诺夫为他的新任幕僚长，并宣布对外情报局局长奥列格·伊瓦申科将接替布达诺夫担任国家安全局局长。

泽连斯基曾表示：“乌克兰需要更加重视安全问题、乌克兰国防和安全部队的发展以及外交谈判，总统办公室将主要服务于我国的这些任务的完成。”

7 月，泽连斯基还解除了奥列克桑德·瑟尔斯基的国家总司令职务，任命米哈伊洛·德拉帕蒂领导军队。

此前，由于国防部长米哈伊洛·费多罗夫被撤职，首都基辅爆发了为期六天的抗议活动，费多罗夫此前曾与瑟尔斯基发生冲突。

据柏林卡内基俄罗斯欧亚中心旗下媒体和分析平台卡内基政治网报道，泽连斯基的安全部门改组“表明他有意加强控制强制权力的各个机构之间的政治协调”。

报告指出，“此次人事变动发生在反腐调查再次波及总统身边的高级官员之后，这重新加剧了总统行政部门与独立反腐机构之间的紧张关系。”

报告补充说：“这是否会给乌克兰国家反腐败局带来新的压力还有待观察，但人事变动显然加强了总统行政部门塑造安全部门与乌克兰执法机构之间关系的能力。”

泽连斯基的盟友也被指控存在腐败行为。

去年 11 月，一起涉及泽连斯基的商业伙伴、政治盟友以及一群从核电垄断中获利的所谓不法分子的腐败丑闻席卷了乌克兰。

乌克兰国家反腐败局 (NABU) 和专门反腐败检察官办公室 (SAPO) 公布了视频和音频记录，其中该团伙似乎使用昵称和暗语讨论金额高达数千万美元的贿赂和回扣。

泽连斯基在2019年总统竞选期间的反腐败纲领赢得了选民的共鸣。今年7月，在国家安全委员会和国家反腐败局对他的盟友和前商业伙伴展开调查后，泽连斯基试图限制这两个机构的自主权。但在民众大规模抗议后，他最终让步。