Key facts
- Ukraine's SBU accused a Russian Volunteer Corps member of FSB contacts and assassination plots.
- The RVC member denied the allegations, stating he was detained for nine days and confessed under duress.
- A shootout occurred between SBU officers and HUR members in Kyiv, injuring three HUR personnel.
- President Zelensky called the incident 'disgraceful' and ordered an investigation into the agencies' actions.
- The head of the SBU's department for state secrets protection was dismissed.
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) accused a Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) member of having contacts with Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and plotting assassinations, allegations the RVC deputy commander, Stepan Kaplunov, denies. Kaplunov stated he confessed under duress after being detained for nine days. The dispute escalated into a shootout in Kyiv between SBU officers and members of the HUR military intelligence agency, injuring three HUR personnel. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the incident 'disgraceful' and ordered an investigation, stating that both agencies acted inappropriately. He also dismissed Oleh Khramov, head of the SBU’s department for the protection of state secrets. Two servicemen from the involved agencies have been issued notices of suspicion. In separate incidents, Russian forces attacked a Coca-Cola plant in Brovary, injuring six people, and Moscow airports restricted flights following a Ukrainian warning of a 'closed skies' campaign. Additionally, a Russian military commander, Maj. Gen. Nikolay Varpakhovich, previously linked by the SBU to a hospital strike, was shot and critically injured.