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Zelenskyy fires senior SBU official and orders probe after Ukrainian security agencies exchange fire

From Adevărul · () Romanian

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

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered an investigation after SBU and GUR units exchanged fire in Kyiv on Sept. 2.
  • Three GUR personnel were reportedly wounded, while the agencies offered conflicting accounts of how the confrontation began.
  • Zelenskyy dismissed Oleg Hramov, the SBU official responsible for protecting state secrets.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an armed confrontation between Ukraine’s two security services “absolutely shameful” and ordered a full investigation. The clash in Kyiv involved units of the Security Service of Ukraine, known as the SBU, and the Main Directorate of Intelligence, or GUR.

The shooting took place on the morning of Sept. 2 during an operation linked to an alleged Russian FSB plot against a person associated with the Russian opposition. Zelenskyy said those responsible must be held accountable, including through administrative measures. He later signed a decree dismissing Oleg Hramov, who headed the SBU department responsible for protecting state secrets.

Absolutely shameful.

· Volodymyr ZelenskyyHis description of the armed confrontation between SBU and GUR units.

The two agencies gave sharply different accounts. The SBU said its officers were conducting investigative actions to document an alleged Russian terrorist operation when members of a Ukrainian Defence Forces unit attacked them. Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said law enforcement officers used their weapons to stop armed resistance.

Dmytro Lytvyn, an adviser to Zelenskyy, confirmed that the units belonged to the SBU and GUR and said the president had asked both services’ leaders to explain publicly what happened.

Kidnapped him in broad daylight.

· Commander of the GUR’s Timur special unitThe commander’s allegation about the detention of Stepan Kaplunov by SBU officers.

The GUR and representatives of Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps, disputed that version. The commander of the GUR’s Timur special unit said SBU officers had “kidnapped him in broad daylight” and held him without formal charges. He said the SBU later detained GUR members and opened fire on unarmed intelligence officers after negotiations over legal procedures. Ukrainian media said those claims had not been independently confirmed.

Kaplunov’s lawyer, Taras Borovski, said three GUR members were wounded, two seriously. He also accused the SBU of conducting an overnight emergency search of Kaplunov’s apartment without a lawyer present or a court warrant, and questioned the timing because Kaplunov had allegedly already been detained on Aug. 23.

During investigative actions in the case concerning the terrorist act of the Russian FSB, an armed attack took place against SBU officers.

· Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s OfficeThe official SBU-linked account of how the confrontation began.
About this summary

Originally published by Adevărul in Romanian. 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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