A shoot-out between Ukraine’s two leading security agencies on the streets of Kyiv has caused concern among residents already coming under intense Russian drone and missile attacks.Days later, there are still more questions than answers about what happened and why. A video showing a man confessing to being a Russian spy -- which he has since said was recorded under duress -- has added to the confusion.President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has taken swift action, firing the deputy heads of each organization on September 3 -- declaring "both agencies must be held accountable.” He'd previously said the gunfight was "disgraceful."Who Was Involved?The gun battle pitted Ukraine’s main domestic intelligence agency, known as the SBU, against the country’s military intelligence outlet, the HUR. Both have been carrying out armed operations against Russian forces.Their firefight erupted on September 2, as the Ukrainian capital was targeted by Russian air strikes for the sixth day in a row.
“Both acted in a way that is absolutely unacceptable,” Zelenskyy said, adding that “two individuals implicated in the shooting” had been formally named as suspects amid an ongoing investigation.Still, the details of the incident known to the public remain murky.The jarring shoot-out appears to be connected to the earlier arrest of Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander of the notorious Ukrainian-backed paramilitary group the Russian Volunteer Corps.The corps first came to prominence with cross-border raids inside Russia in 2023.Effectively overseen by the HUR's Tymur's Special Unit, it is mostly made up of Russian nationals.
