Three officers of Ukraine's military intelligence agency (GUR) were wounded in a shootout with the SBU security service in Kyiv's Dnipro district on the morning of September 2, according to sources cited by Ukrainian media. Police cordoned off the street, and investigators from the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and the head of the SBU's Alpha special unit arrived at the scene.

The clash erupted over the detention of Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), a paramilitary group fighting on Ukraine's side. The RDK claims Kaplunov was abducted from his own courtyard on August 23. His lawyer, Taras Borovsky, called the detention an abduction, saying his client was held for ten days without a formal arrest protocol or suspicion notice, and that SBU detention center staff told him Kaplunov had "never been admitted."

On the night of September 2, SBU officers brought Kaplunov to his apartment for a search. According to the lawyer, Kaplunov's GUR colleagues arrived "on alert," and after a series of confrontations, gunfire broke out between the two groups. Later that day, Kaplunov was released without any preventive measure. In an interview with Radio NV, he said he had been held "in isolation from the outside world" for nine days at two secret locations, adding that while he was not physically abused, he was threatened, including with "words about a pit."

The GUR and SBU gave conflicting accounts. The SBU said it was conducting counter-sabotage work, alleging that Kaplunov had established contact with Russia's FSB and was tasked with preparing an assassination attempt on a leader of the Russian opposition movement who had arrived in Ukraine for Independence Day. The agency claimed his phone contained correspondence with an FSB representative, and that he was to receive a reward for killing the opposition figure and other Ukrainian soldiers. The SBU released a video of Kaplunov confessing; his lawyer insists the recording was made under duress, involving torture and death threats.

The GUR alleged a "targeted disinformation campaign" without naming its organizers. Spokesman Andriy Chernyak said the agency would provide its full version later, as it "has great respect for its colleagues and brothers-in-arms."

Kaplunov himself said the aim of his abduction was to discredit the GUR special unit that includes the RDK, its commander, and the head of the President's Office, Kyrylo Budanov. He said he agreed to the SBU's version about his FSB contacts "in that difficult situation."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the incident "absolutely disgraceful," saying, "Shooting here in Ukraine can only be done at Russian occupiers." He demanded that the Prosecutor General's Office and the SBI investigate, and that the heads of both agencies take personnel decisions regarding those involved.