According to the report, S. Kaplunov allegedly had to carry out an assassination attempt on one of the leaders of the Russian opposition movement in Ukraine. As the service indicated, the murder was supposedly planned to be carried out on Ukraine’s Independence Day.
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“Connections of the Russian Volunteer Corps, belonging to the International Legion and accountable to Ukrainian military intelligence, with Russian special services were identified. The mentioned person was supposed to prepare an assassination attempt on one of the leaders of the Russian opposition movement, who was supposed to come to Ukraine at that time,” the statement says.
According to SBU data, the suspect (his name and surname are not directly mentioned, but as the news portal “New Voice” notes, videos and context reveal that it is about S. Kaplunov) was tasked with eliminating other Ukrainian defense forces soldiers for a monetary reward.
The Security Service of Ukraine emphasized that the crime was stopped in time.
It is stated that S. Kaplunov allegedly admitted to having contacts with the Russian security service (FSB). Also, relevant information was allegedly found on his phone, for which the fighter was assigned a preventive measure.
The service also spoke about a “completely unacceptable conflict situation” that led to a shootout between SBU and GUR officers during the investigation and evidence collection.
“This definitely should not have happened. Currently, this incident is being investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation. The Security Service is providing full assistance to the investigation to objectively and impartially determine all the circumstances of the incident,” the released statement emphasizes.
“Nothing like that happened”
However, S. Kaplunov himself, in an interview with the news portal “New Voice,” told a somewhat different story.
According to the soldier, after several days of interrogation and pressure from SBU officers, he was forced to admit cooperating with the Russian security service.
He allegedly also informed the special service that his direct commander Dmitry Ivanov was involved in contacts with the FSB.
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“In such a difficult situation, I really fully agreed with their version that I had contact with the FSB and later passed it on to my direct commander Dmitry. Although in reality, nothing like that happened. This means I did it because of the situation I found myself in and under psychological pressure,” S. Kaplunov admitted.
On Wednesday morning, the SBU shared a statement indicating that together with GUR agents, they thwarted an FSB assassination attempt on one of the leaders of the Russian opposition movement, without naming him.
Later, the SBU provided more details, stating that during a search conducted under the case of the assassination attempt, operatives were attacked by a group of individuals associated with the Ukrainian defense forces.
“Kidnapped in broad daylight”
It is claimed that the special unit “Alpha” opened fire, resulting in injuries among the attackers, whom sources of the news portal “Ukrainska Pravda” identified as GUR officers.
In turn, Tymur, the head of the GUR special unit to which the Russian Volunteer Corps is assigned, stated that the combat commander was “kidnapped in broad daylight” by Security Service of Ukraine officers without any official charges.
On Wednesday evening, President Volodymyr Zelensky called the incident “completely shameful” and noted that the heads of special services must make personnel decisions after the shootout in Kyiv and conduct the necessary internal investigations in both services. On the same day, a presidential decree was issued dismissing high-ranking SBU officer Oleas Khramov.
Disinformation campaign
Against the background of the conflict with the Security Service of Ukraine, the country’s military intelligence announced that a targeted disinformation campaign is currently underway, aiming to discredit the combat units of Ukrainian military intelligence.
“To implement this campaign, its organizers plan to use media outlets, bloggers, and Telegram channels with questionable reputations, including for monetary reward,” the official GUR statement explains.
