Zelensky: Shooting between Ukrainian services is shameful

In an incident described by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as "shameful," several people were injured in a shootout in central Kiev between members of two branches of Ukraine's security services. The shooting, according to the British "Guardian," took place on Wednesday morning in the center of the capital, between members of Ukraine's State Security Service, SBU, and the military intelligence service, HUR.

The SBU said today that the shooting "definitely should not have happened" and that it is cooperating with state investigators.

The clash was apparently sparked by the recent arrest of a Russian citizen who had been fighting on the Ukrainian side under the supervision of the HUR. Local media reported that while the SBU was searching an apartment related to the investigation, HUR officers arrived at the scene, resulting in a shootout; three HUR officers were injured.

The SBU said it, together with the HUR, had foiled a Russian-backed terrorist plot targeting a Russian opposition leader who had recently arrived in Ukraine. In a separate statement, the SBU said its officers had come under armed attack while conducting an investigation and had responded with weapons.

The SBU released a video today of a Russian citizen who fought on the side of Ukraine and was arrested last month. In the video, the man says he was contacted by someone from Russia acting on behalf of Moscow’s intelligence service and wanted to recruit him to kill members of the Ukrainian defense forces and others. His lawyer told local media that the video was made under pressure and was released to “justify” the shooting. The man has since been released from SBU custody, the Guardian reports.

Hours after the shooting, Zelensky dismissed Oleh Hramov, head of the SBU's department for the protection of state secrets. "Here in Ukraine, it is allowed to shoot only at Russian occupiers, in defense of Ukraine. Our state will never consider any other shooting acceptable," Zelensky wrote on social media.

The incident came at a sensitive time for Zelensky. He recently faced demands from his ousted defense minister to hold elections during the war. The demand by Mikhail Fedorov, whose dismissal sparked a wave of protests, represented the biggest challenge to Zelensky's authority inside Ukraine since the Russian invasion.

Zelensky also recently fired the deputy chief of staff of the president, following reports that she was under investigation for an alleged money laundering scheme. The Ukrainian president said that Wednesday's shooting must be investigated by both the SBU and the HUR. Ukraine's main investigative body has also opened an investigation.

In a separate incident, a 71-year-old man was wounded outside a medical clinic in Kiev this morning and is in "serious condition," the Kiev city prosecutor's office said. An investigation into attempted murder has been launched.

The shootings come as Kiev is under intense Russian bombardment. Airstrikes have been in place in the capital for extended periods of time, both day and night, in recent days.