Zelensky announces dismissals in SBU and GUR leadership after shooting

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced personnel decisions after the armed conflict between SBU officers and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense in Kyiv. According to him, the deputy heads of both special services, who should bear responsibility for the incident, will be dismissed.

Zelensky said this on the evening of September 3 after a conversation with Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.

The President noted that the investigation into the circumstances of the conflict is ongoing. Law enforcement officers have already notified two direct participants of the shooting – an SBU officer and a GUR serviceman – of suspicion.

At the same time, according to Zelensky, personnel decisions will be made in both structures.

"There are already personnel decisions for both structures – the deputy heads who should be responsible for this situation will be dismissed," the President said.

Zelensky did not name the deputy heads of the SBU and GUR who are planned to be dismissed.

Leadership of SBU and GUR will also be evaluated

The President emphasized that the investigation is not limited to the actions of the direct participants of the shooting. All circumstances of the incident are being checked from the very beginning of this story.

Based on the results of internal investigations, the actions of the heads of the SBU and GUR will be assessed separately.

"It is important that the truth is revealed. And that such situations do not recur," Zelensky stressed.

According to him, both structures must bear responsibility, as the actions of representatives of both the SBU and military intelligence were unacceptable.

"Both structures must answer, both structures acted in a way that definitely should not happen," the President said.

Two suspects already appear in the case

Earlier on September 3, the Prosecutor General's Office reported two suspects in the criminal proceedings on the fact of use of firearms during the conflict.

An SBU officer was notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – abuse of power or official authority by a law enforcement officer.

A GUR serviceman was notified of suspicion under Article 348 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – encroachment on the life of a law enforcement officer.

As part of the investigation, a set of expert examinations has been ordered. Investigators must establish the circumstances of the use of weapons, the origin of bullet traces, and verify other material evidence found at the scene.

The shooting occurred in Kyiv

The armed conflict between representatives of the SBU and GUR occurred on September 1 in Kyiv during investigative actions of the Security Service. Subsequently, the parties presented significantly different versions of what happened.

The incident was related to Stepan Kaplunov, a serviceman of the GUR unit "Russian Volunteer Corps". The SBU claimed that it was investigating possible contacts of the deputy commander of the RVC with the Russian FSB and the preparation of an assassination attempt on one of the representatives of the Russian opposition.

During the investigative actions, an armed conflict occurred between representatives of the security forces. As a result, three GUR officers were wounded.

Zelensky earlier called the incident an "absolutely shameful situation" and said that weapons in Ukraine should be used against Russian occupiers, not between representatives of Ukrainian special services.

Based on materials from: Volodymyr Zelensky, Office of the President of Ukraine