Ukraine’s SBU accuses Russian Volunteer Corps deputy commander Stepan Kaplunov of working for the FSB and plotting an Independence Day assassination. He says he was tortured into confessing.

Recent coverage details a sequence of events involving Ukrainian security agencies, centered around an accusation by Ukraine's SBU against Russian Volunteer Corps deputy commander Stepan Kaplunov. According to reports, Kaplunov is accused of working for the FSB and plotting an Independence Day assassination. Concurrently, reporting highlights that Ukrainian special forces units clashed with each other in a bitter downtown Kyiv shootout. Coverage from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty notes that an alleged confession video has raised more questions about the security agencies' shoot-out. Outlets such as Business Insider, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Meduza are actively covering the developments.

Meduza focuses on the specific accusations brought by the SBU against Kaplunov and his counter-assertion that he was tortured into confessing. Business Insider reports on the specific detail of the downtown Kyiv shootout involving Ukrainian special forces units. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty emphasizes the questions raised by the alleged confession video regarding the internal conflicts within the security agencies. The context provided by the coverage connects the SBU's accusations against the Russian Volunteer Corps deputy commander with the armed confrontation in Kyiv. While the headlines establish the SBU allegations, Kaplunov's torture claims, the video release, and the special forces clash, the broader implications for internal security remain framed by these unfolding events.

The reporting does not yet specify how the different security branches plan to resolve the jurisdictional or operational friction highlighted by the downtown shootout. Future coverage will likely track the official responses from the SBU and other Ukrainian security agencies regarding the armed clash in Kyiv. Observers and media outlets will also monitor any further releases concerning Stepan Kaplunov's confession video and the formal legal or military proceedings stemming from the alleged Independence Day assassination plot. Specific details regarding accountability for the special forces shootout remain dependent on subsequent announcements from the reported sources.