Members of two of Ukraine's main intelligence agencies clashed armed in the streets of Kyiv. The exchange of gunfire happened Wednesday morning, after hours of standoff between agents of the military intelligence service, known as HUR, and the country's domestic intelligence agency, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU).
The clash occurred outside the apartment of Stepan Kaplunov, a Russian citizen fighting for Ukraine who holds the position of senior commander of military intelligence. The confrontation exposed a growing rivalry between the two intelligence agencies.
President Volodymyr Zelensky classified the incident as "shameful," evidencing the power struggle within the country's defense forces. The following Thursday, the domestic intelligence agency SBU accused Kaplunov of planning an assassination at the behest of the military intelligence service HUR.
