Zelenskyy Orders Investigations, Personnel Shakeup After SSU-DIU Firefight in Kyiv

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned a shooting between units of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) that occurred in Kyiv on 2 September 2026, calling it an "absolutely shameful situation" and announcing personnel changes at both agencies. The incident, which took place in the Dniprovskyi District, has prompted an investigation by the Prosecutor General and the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), with Zelenskyy insisting that "people in Ukraine can only shoot at Russian occupiers" and that no other exchange of gunfire will be tolerated.

According to Zelenskyy's evening address, the Prosecutor General, Ruslan Kravchenko, and the SBI will establish all details, including testimony and statements from those involved. The President said there must be "accountability, including personnel changes by the heads of the security services regarding those involved in what happened, as well as internal investigations within both agencies."

Separately, Zelenskyy dismissed the head of the SSU department responsible for state secrets protection on the same day Source: Ukrainska Pravda. While the timing suggests a possible link to the shooting, no direct connection has been confirmed.

The shooting appears to be linked to the disappearance of Stepan Kaplunov, Deputy Commander for Combat Operations of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), who was reportedly abducted from the courtyard of his building on 1 September. The RVC is a group of Russian volunteers fighting for Ukraine since 2014. Social media reports from the night of 1-2 September suggested a shootout involving DIU and SSU in Kyiv's Dniprovskyi District, allegedly connected to Kaplunov's abduction Source: Ukrainska Pravda. SBI officers and the head of the SSU's Special Operations Centre Alpha arrived at the scene.

This is not the first instance of tension between Ukraine's security and intelligence agencies. But an armed confrontation in the capital involving units tasked with defending the state represents a serious breach of discipline and operational security. For engineers and founders operating in Ukraine's tech and defense sectors, this incident raises concerns about inter-agency coordination, particularly in joint operations or sensitive projects where clear chain-of-command is essential.

Open questions remain: What exactly triggered the exchange of gunfire? Which specific personnel changes will be implemented? And is the dismissal of the SSU department head directly related to the shooting? The investigations by the Prosecutor General and SBI, along with internal inquiries within both agencies, are expected to provide answers. The SSU and DIU have not yet commented on the incident.

Zelenskyy's demand for accountability — and his emphasis that internal disputes must never escalate to gunfire — signals that the President is treating this as a serious institutional failure. For those building on top of Ukraine's defense tech ecosystem, the outcome of these investigations could reshape how teams from different agencies collaborate on the ground.