SBU-GUR clash in Kyiv: What's behind the shootout between Ukraine's spy agencies

A gunfight between operatives of Ukraine's two elite security agencies in a Kyiv residential courtyard wounded three military intelligence soldiers, triggering a public rebuke from President Volodymyr Zelensky and an official investigation. The clash has exposed a deep rift between the SBU security service and the GUR military intelligence agency. The incident began with the alleged abduction of Stepan Kaplunov, a Russian volunteer fighter, by SBU officers who accused him of plotting assassinations for Russia's FSB. GUR fighters surrounded the location during a search, leading to a standoff and then gunfire that wounded three GUR members, with each side blaming the other. Zelensky called the incident "absolutely disgraceful" and announced dismissals of deputy heads in both agencies. Analysts see the clash as reflecting a power struggle between SBU chief Oleksandr Poklad and GUR head Kyrylo Budanov, who now leads the presidential office, with roots in a disputed 2022 killing.