The lawyer for RDK fighter Kaplunov stated that the SBU wounded three military personnel from the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.

The lawyer for the deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps, Stepan Kaplunov, Taras Borovskyi, stated that his client was abducted on August 23. During investigative actions in Kyiv on September 1, a shootout occurred, resulting in injuries to HUR officers, one of whom is in serious condition, reports UNN. 

Details 

As Borovskyi recounted, on August 23 Stepan Kaplunov, a serviceman of the Main Intelligence Directorate, specifically of the Russian Volunteer Corps, was "abducted" by SBU officers. 

"Why do I say 'abducted' rather than 'detained'? Because detention entails drawing up a detention record, since detention is provided for by the Criminal Procedure Code. It entails the participation of a lawyer, an interpreter, if necessary, and so on. It also entails the relevant procedural rights and the selection of a preventive measure—custody, house arrest, or something else. Here, it was an actual abduction: the person was simply forced into a car and taken away in an unknown direction," Borovskyi stated. 

According to him, until September 1 it was not known where Kaplunov was, and the SBU did not respond to inquiries. 

"Accordingly, we did not know where he was. Perhaps he had been abducted by enemies; perhaps he was already dead at that point. We considered various possibilities. During the night of September 1–2, the following happened: officers of the Security Service of Ukraine came to the apartment where Stepan Kaplunov lived and brought him there in order to conduct an urgent search there—an urgent investigative action, a search in his presence. Accordingly, HUR officers were already waiting at the apartment," the lawyer added. 

He noted that the first groups to arrive at the scene were detained, and shots rang out near the entrance at around 11:00 p.m. on September 1. 

According to him, HUR representatives later arrived at the scene, after which a verbal conflict arose. It was resolved after an agreement between HUR and SBU representatives: the latter were to release Kaplunov and the detained comrades, while HUR servicemen were to clear the way for the SBU vehicle.

"After shaking hands and reaching certain peaceful agreements, most of the HUR servicemen began leaving for home," the lawyer noted. 

However, as he noted, at around 8:30 a.m. on September 2, while the final document was being signed, specifically the scene examination report, which had been prepared almost all night, masked and armed representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine's security unit began "pulling out" servicemen and dragging them toward a vehicle. 

"At that time, the balance of forces was as follows: there were about 30 SBU officers, while there were up to 10 of us. Accordingly, our group began defending our comrades with their bare hands, pulling them back, pushing people away, and so on. The Security Service of Ukraine officers reacted aggressively; they said, 'Everyone step back,' and opened fire—initially warning shots, and then some SBU officers allowed themselves to open fire on people. They seriously wounded one of our comrades, seriously wounded a second comrade—for his life, we are simply keeping our fingers crossed and praying; he is now fighting between life and death—and lightly wounded a third comrade," the lawyer stated. 

RDC commander Denis Kapustin said that no suspicious or compromising items were found in the apartment of RDC fighter Kaplunov, where the SBU conducted a search. 

UNN contacted HUR and the SBU for comment on the circumstances of the events, but did not receive a response from the agencies. 

As a reminder 

The Security Service of Ukraine and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine prevented a terrorist attack by the FSB of the Russian Federation against Stepan Kaplunov, the deputy commander for combat operations of the Russian Volunteer Corps, whose abduction had been reported by the RDC. 

The SBU reported operational and investigative actions in the case following the foiled terrorist attack.

Later, the SBU reported that it had come under attack during a search conducted as part of a special operation, and that weapons had been used. It also said that there were injuries. There were also detainees belonging to one of the Defense Forces' units, the SBU reported.

Following the shooting incident in Kyiv involving representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine and one of the units of the Defense Forces, a pre-trial investigation has been launched into the attack on the SBU group on charges of threatening and encroaching on the lives of law enforcement officers, the Prosecutor General's Office said.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that the incident involving gunfire in Kyiv, with the participation of representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine and one of the units of the Defense Forces, should be communicated by the relevant agencies.