Those around the leader of Ichkeria Akhmed Zakayev stated that they learned about the attempt on his life only from the media.
Sources from his entourage informed Babel about this.
Zakayevʼs entourage did not receive any official reports of an assassination attempt from SBU. On the eve, sources in law enforcement agencies told Babel that an assassination attempt was being prepared against Akhmed Zakayev.
According to SBU, the attack on the Russian, whose name is not officially mentioned, was planned for Independence Day. Thatʼs when Zakayev was supposed to be in Ukraine.
Conflict between SBU and GUR
Late in the evening of September 1, a shooting occurred in Kyiv, which was repeated on the morning of September 2. As it later turned out, the conflict arose due to the disappearance of Stepan Kaplunov, the deputy commander of RDK, which is subordinate to the “Tymur Special Unit” of GUR. He claims that he was kidnapped by SBU and forced under pressure to confess that he had communicated with the Russian FSB and agreed to carry out assassinations on its orders.
It was during the investigative actions in this case, when Kaplunov was brought to his apartment for a search, that the first shooting occurred. Kaplunovʼs brothers were in the apartment at that time. The second time, according to the commander of RDK, SBU opened fire in the morning. Three GUR employees were injured.
After the shooting in Kyiv, the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office launched a pre-trial investigation. President Volodymyr Zelensky first reported personnel decisions due to the incident, and on September 3, he dismissed the head of the State Secrets and Licensing Department of SBU Oleh Khramov.
Kaplunov denies all charges, and the commander of RDK Denys Kapustin emphasizes that Kaplunov has not yet been officially suspected.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.