Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned a shootout in Kyiv between Ukraine’s SBU and GUR intelligence and security services that reportedly left three officers injured. The president called the incident “absolutely shameful” and said he had ordered prosecutors and investigators to examine it.
Zelenskyy also fired a senior SBU officer and said shooting in Ukraine was permitted only against Russian occupiers defending the country.
What is known about the clash
The SBU, Ukraine’s internal security service, took into custody a leader of an anti-Kremlin Russian unit fighting for Ukraine under the GUR’s watch, according to reports cited in the briefing. The GUR, also known as HUR, is the armed forces’ counterpart and conducts military activities and special operations.
Zelenskyy said the state would not accept any other shootout as permissible. The reported confrontation has brought two Ukrainian services involved in the war effort into a public dispute while investigators and prosecutors are called in. For additional context, see “Macron pledges faster French missile deliveries as Ukraine faces intensified Russian attacks”.
Russian strikes continue across Ukraine
Russian drones struck central Kyiv on Wednesday for a seventh consecutive day of intense attacks on the capital, with explosions heard again early on Thursday. Eleven people were wounded on Wednesday, while residential and university buildings were damaged.
Missile and drone strikes on power facilities in the southern Odesa region cut electricity to more than 350,000 homes, authorities said. In Dnipro, two people were killed and eight wounded; food warehouses and educational buildings were damaged, according to the regional governor.
Air defence and aviation risks
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it could take Ukraine several years to begin producing Patriot air-defence interceptors under a proposed licensed-production arrangement with the United States. He said the plan would not provide an immediate answer to Kyiv’s short-term air-defence needs because the weapons are highly sophisticated and demand is high globally.
Ukraine has asked the UN’s aviation agency, ICAO, and its member states to prohibit civil-aircraft operations in Russian airspace, saying it was becoming unsafe because of Ukrainian drones. ICAO called on members to protect civilian aviation, citing risks from long-range weapons, unmanned aircraft, navigation-system interference and advanced air-defence systems. A related part of this story is covered in “Child among three killed in strikes around Ukraine’s capital”.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine would revise its air-raid alert system into two tiers: red for missiles and yellow for drones. He also said curfew hours would be reduced and more above-ground transport would be provided when metro services close.
Frozen Russian assets and sanctions enforcement
Norway has seized the Russian cruise ship Professor Molchanov over unpaid compensation linked to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. A tribunal in The Hague ordered Russia in April 2023 to pay Ukraine’s state oil and gas company Naftogaz $4.22bn for Crimean assets, but Russia has refused to pay. Naftogaz said the Nord-Troms and Senja district court ordered the seizure on 31 August; the vessel was used for commercial expedition cruises, including to Svalbard.
Belgium continues to oppose EU use of €200bn in frozen Russian assets for Ukraine, citing the risks of a process similar to confiscation. EU countries have instead provided a €90bn loan, while some governments want to reopen debate on the frozen funds. The development of this issue can be followed in “Kyiv outlines battlefield gains as fighting continues across Ukraine”.
The UK sanctions enforcement agency OFSI fined Citibank £4.7m after its London branch processed 970 payments worth £19.7m that gave sanctioned Russians access to funds. The payments, including transactions involving Russian state-owned shipping company PJSC Sovcomflot and several banks, mostly occurred between February and November 2022. OFSI said it found no intent to breach sanctions and that the bank voluntarily disclosed most breaches.
No comments yet. Start the discussion.