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Ukrainian intelligence units exchange gunfire in Kyiv as power struggle surfaces during war

From Dong-A Ilbo · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Named sources Ongoing story
  • Special forces linked to Ukraine's SBU and HUR intelligence agencies exchanged fire at a Kyiv apartment complex, injuring at least three HUR personnel.
  • The confrontation followed the SBU's detention of Russian national and Russian Volunteer Corps figure Stepan Kalpunov and an attempted search of an apartment rented by HUR.
  • The clash adds pressure on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose leadership and approval ratings face scrutiny amid the prolonged war and delayed elections.

Ukraine's two main intelligence agencies turned their weapons on each other in central Kyiv, an extraordinary confrontation that has brought an internal power struggle into the open during the war with Russia.

Special forces linked to the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, and the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, known as HUR, exchanged fire at an apartment complex from the night of Sept. 1 into the early hours of Sept. 2, according to the Wall Street Journal and other reports. At least three HUR personnel were wounded. Videos posted by residents showed bloodstains outside the building.

The dispute began after the SBU detained Stepan Kalpunov, a Russian national and official of the Russian Volunteer Corps who had been helping Ukraine through a HUR-linked unit. Kalpunov remained in custody for about a week. On Sept. 1, the SBU tried to search an apartment in central Kyiv rented by HUR. HUR personnel resisted the search, and the gunfight followed. Kalpunov was released after the clash, but the allegations against him remain unclear.

A shameful thing

· Volodymyr ZelenskyyThe president condemned the gunfight between the two Ukrainian intelligence services.

The SBU, founded in 1991, handles domestic counterintelligence, espionage cases and counterterrorism. HUR, established in 1992, focuses mainly on foreign and military intelligence and has carried out covert operations in areas occupied by Russia. Since the war began, the two agencies' activities have increasingly overlapped, including operations inside Russia, intensifying competition over covert missions, Western intelligence resources and battlefield credit.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the shooting “a shameful thing” and said the only people Ukraine should be shooting at are Russian occupation forces. The incident comes as his leadership faces renewed pressure. A recent Socis poll showed former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov and former army chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, now ambassador to Britain, ahead of Zelenskyy in hypothetical runoff matchups. Zelenskyy received 33.8% against Zaluzhnyi's 66.2%, and 36.2% against Fedorov's 63.8%.

The only people Ukraine should be shooting at are the Russian occupation forces

· Volodymyr ZelenskyyZelenskyy said Ukrainian forces should direct their weapons at Russian occupiers, not each other.
About this summary

Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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