The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), a powerful agency born from the Soviet-era KGB, plays a critical role in the ongoing war. It investigates war crimes, conducts counterintelligence, and leads special forces in drone attacks against Russian targets.
The drone attack on the SBU headquarters highlights the ongoing escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war and the SBU's central role in Ukraine's defense and intelligence operations, including its aggressive actions against Russian targets.
Russia launched a drone strike on the headquarters of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) in Kyiv on Friday, an act Ukrainian authorities condemned as an escalation of the conflict. The SBU, a powerful organization that emerged from the Ukrainian branch of the Soviet-era KGB following Ukraine's independence in 1991, has a broad mandate covering domestic security and related matters.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, the SBU's role has significantly expanded. It is actively involved in investigating war crimes, defending against cyberattacks, and conducting counterintelligence operations, including the apprehension of Russian agents. The agency commands thousands of Alpha special forces personnel who have engaged in drone attacks against Russian military hardware on the battlefield, as well as strikes on oil refineries and military facilities deep within Russian territory. They have also utilized sea drones against oil tankers.
The SBU has claimed responsibility for several high-profile operations against Russia, including the truck bomb attack on the Kerch Bridge connecting Russia to occupied Crimea in October 2022 and a sophisticated drone attack codenamed 'Spiderweb' that targeted Russian strategic bombers at airbases. The agency is also widely believed to be involved in covert operations resulting in the assassinations of senior Russian military officials and figures accused by Ukraine of war crimes, actions that Russia has labeled as terrorist attacks.
The SBU is currently led by acting head Oleksandr Poklad, who was appointed in July. His office was reportedly hit in the drone strike on the SBU headquarters. Poklad was not injured, according to the agency.
The SBU's size has grown during the war, with legislation now capping its maximum wartime personnel at 41,000, an increase from the previous threshold of 31,000. The exact number of employees is classified.
The agency maintains a long-standing rivalry with Ukraine's military intelligence agency, the Main Intelligence Directorate. This rivalry recently led to a shootout in Kyiv involving members of both organizations, resulting in injuries to several military intelligence officers. President Zelenskiy has ordered an investigation into the incident.