Armed Standoff Between Ukraine’s SBU and Military Intelligence Leaves Officer Dead in Kyiv
A shootout between Ukraine’s Security Service and military intelligence on a Kyiv street left at least one officer dead and several wounded, forcing top investigators to intervene and raising immediate questions about how a joint anti‑terror operation turned into an internal gun battle.
A rare armed clash between Ukrainian security services on a residential street in Kyiv has left at least one officer dead and others wounded, exposing serious tensions inside the country’s wartime security apparatus.
The confrontation unfolded on Shumskogo Street in Kyiv’s Dniprovskyi district in the early hours of 2 September. According to Ukrainska Pravda and other local outlets, personnel from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the military intelligence directorate (HUR) faced off in a standoff that escalated into gunfire.
Local media report that one HUR officer was killed and two wounded. Other accounts from the scene initially spoke of three injured HUR officers. Police blocked access to the street while representatives of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and the head of the SBU’s Alpha special unit arrived. The two sides later agreed to unload their weapons so investigators could begin work, and civilians were kept away from the area.
Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov responded with a pointed statement, saying that no one has the right to kidnap military personnel, open fire on city streets, or issue and carry out criminal orders. His comments referred to the Kyiv shooting involving law enforcement officers but did not provide a detailed chronology of events.
The SBU offered its own version, saying it had been conducting urgent investigative actions when the violence broke out. According to the service, its investigators were carrying out a search as part of an operation that, together with HUR, had foiled a terrorist attack allegedly prepared by Russia’s FSB against one of the leaders of a Russian opposition nationalist movement who had come to Ukraine for Independence Day.
The incident appears to be linked to the disappearance or detention of Aleksandr Kaplunov, deputy commander of the anti‑Kremlin Russian Volunteer Corps, who vanished on 23 August. His colleagues described what happened as an abduction. The SBU, by contrast, has presented its activities as part of a joint counter‑terrorism effort with HUR against Russian intelligence plots.
As details dribble out through official statements and media leaks, independent investigators have stepped in. The SBI and representatives of the State Bureau of Investigation were seen at the scene, and Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Prosecutor General have taken up the case, stressing the need for a thorough, impartial probe. Streets around the site remained cordoned off while evidence was collected.
The clash comes as Ukraine faces sustained Russian missile and drone attacks on its cities, including Kyiv, and relies heavily on both the SBU and HUR to disrupt Russian operations. An internal gunfight between those services risks undermining public trust at home and raising doubts among foreign partners who share intelligence and fund parts of Ukraine’s security sector.
The next indicators of how deep the damage runs will be whether top political authorities order public disciplinary action, how transparently investigators report their findings, and whether the SBU and HUR can resume visible joint work without similar confrontations spilling onto city streets.
Sources
- OSINT