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🇬🇷 Greece /Elections & Politics

Zelenskyy orders sanctions and inquiry after agents exchange fire in Kyiv

From Kathimerini · () Greek

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

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Under investigation
  • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered an investigation and announced sanctions after SBU and GUR agents exchanged fire in Kyiv.
  • Two agents, one from each service, are officially suspected, while several people were injured, according to the SBU.
  • The incident has highlighted longstanding rivalry between Ukraine’s two powerful security services, which are both involved in the war against Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered sanctions and an investigation after agents from Ukraine’s SBU security service and military intelligence agency, the GUR, exchanged fire in Kyiv.

Two people involved in the incident are now officially suspects: one SBU agent and one GUR agent.

· Volodymyr ZelenskyyThe Ukrainian president identified the formal status of the two agents involved in the shooting.

Two people involved in the incident are now officially suspects, Zelenskyy said in his regular nighttime address: one SBU agent and one GUR agent. “The circumstances of the incident are also under investigation,” he said, adding that the truth must be established so that similar events do not happen again.

Zelenskyy said the findings of an internal investigation would be used to assess the heads of both agencies. “It is absolutely fair that both sides should be held accountable. Both acted improperly,” he said.

The circumstances of the incident are also under investigation.

· Volodymyr ZelenskyyHe said investigators would examine what happened during the exchange of fire.

Ukrainian media first reported the shooting on Wednesday morning. The SBU later said the “completely unacceptable” confrontation took place while its agents were carrying out an investigation into alleged links between Russia’s Federal Security Service and a commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps, a Ukrainian unit subordinate to the GUR. The SBU said several people were injured but gave no further details.

It is absolutely fair that both sides should be held accountable. Both acted improperly.

· Volodymyr ZelenskyyZelenskyy said both services would face assessment after the internal investigation.

The GUR, without directly addressing the confrontation with the SBU, accused unidentified actors of conducting a “disinformation campaign” intended to discredit the agency and its combat units. The two services have long been known to compete with each other while operating directly in the war against Russia. Political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko attributed the rivalry to a “personal and political dispute” between SBU chief Oleksandr Poklad and Kyrylo Budanov, the president’s chief of staff and former head of the GUR.

personal and political dispute

· Volodymyr FesenkoThe political analyst described what he considered the roots of the rivalry between the two services’ leaders.
About this summary

Originally published by Kathimerini in Greek. 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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