Ukrainian Domestic — 2026-09-04

Zelensky Dismisses Deputy Heads of Intelligence and Security Service After Kyiv Interagency Shootout

BLUFZelensky's symmetric firings impose cosmetic accountability while leaving the underlying SSU-HUR jurisdictional contest over Russian Volunteer Corps assets unresolved and prone to recurrence.

President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Thursday, September 3, that the deputy heads of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and Defence Intelligence (HUR) will be dismissed following a shootout between personnel from the two agencies in Kyiv's Dniprovskyi district on September 2 1234. Zelensky said he discussed the matter with Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko and that two people had been served notices of suspicion, an SSU officer and a HUR officer, with the State Bureau of Investigation examining the remaining circumstances 124. Ukrainska Pravda, citing its own sources, reported three HUR officers were wounded in the incident, which followed the September 1 disappearance of Russian Volunteer Corps deputy commander Stepan Kaplunov, later released according to his lawyer 4. The SSU separately said it and HUR had jointly foiled an FSB-planned attack on a Russian opposition figure who had traveled to Ukraine for Independence Day 14. Bloomberg's report characterized the dismissed SSU official as a "secret service" deputy 5.

Analysis
The parallel dismissals substitute visible discipline for resolution of the underlying jurisdictional clash between SSU and HUR over control of Russian Volunteer Corps assets, a dispute the Kaplunov abduction and release left unsettled. Zelensky's move contains the scandal without assigning blame to either service, preserving parity while the State Bureau of Investigation's separate inquiry proceeds toward individual criminal liability. The dismissals more plausibly settle that standing turf dispute than deliver accountability for the shootout itself, with Wednesday's gunfire serving as trigger rather than root cause. Sourcing, three converging Ukrainian outlets plus a Bloomberg account echoing rather than independently confirming the official line, gives moderate depth but single-government origin. Unresolved boundaries over RVC custody and operations against Russian opposition figures leave the services exposed to renewed friction.

5 sources

Zelensky announces dismissal of deputy heads of DIU and SSU - Ukrinform
Deputy heads of the SBU and the HUR will be dismissed — Zelenskyy on the shootout in Kyiv - UNN (Ukrainian National News)
Zelensky Orders Ouster of SBU, HUR Deputy Heads Following Shootout in Kyiv - Kyiv Post
Zelenskyy announces personnel changes after shootout between Security Service and Defence Intelligence units - Ukrainska Pravda
Zelenskyy Fires Secret Service Official After Kyiv Shootout - Bloomberg