Budanova on Night Shooting in Kyiv: 'No One Has the Right to Kidnap Military Personnel or Open Fire on the Streets'

On the night of September 2, 2026, in the Berezniany district of Kyiv, near a building on Yurii Shumskyi Street, a shooting incident took place that, according to eyewitness reports and footage circulating online, involved members of the security forces. In the morning, traffic on the street was blocked, and law enforcement officers remained on the scene; witnesses reported that there were detainees and the wounded. By the time of the official reaction, the situation was already under the scrutiny of the investigative authorities, which was commented on by the Head of the Presidential Office.

Reaction of the Head of the Presidential Office

Kyrylo Budanov stated that the situation is being handled by the State Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Prosecutor General. In his statement, he emphasized the need for a "thorough and impartial investigation" and added: "no one has the right to get away with kidnapping military personnel, opening fire on the streets of our cities, issuing and carrying out criminal orders." The Head of the Presidential Office's wording effectively establishes two parallel tracks — the investigative one (SBI, Office of the Prosecutor General) and the disciplinary-legal one (liability for "criminal orders") — without, however, giving a final legal qualification of what happened.

Security Services' Version: Preventing a Terrorist Attack

Initially, a number of Telegram channels linked the shooting to the activities of the SBU and the GUR, which did not comment on the events in the first hours. Later, the SBU and the GUR reported the prevention of a terrorist attack that, according to their data, was being prepared by the Russian FSB against a Russian opposition figure located in Ukraine. The name was not disclosed, however, as RBC-Ukraine learned from sources, it concerned an assassination attempt on Stepan Kaplunov, the deputy commander for combat operations of the Russian Volunteer Corps, whose kidnapping the RVC itself had reported on a few days earlier. Notably, the GUR press service subsequently deleted the message about the prevented terrorist attack.

Contradictory Data

A noticeable divergence of versions emerged in the public statements of the parties involved. In one version, the incident is presented as the "prevention of a terrorist attack" prepared by the Russian FSB against a Russian opposition figure; in the other — as an armed attack on SBU officers who, according to that version, were conducting searches as part of the terrorist attack investigation. Moreover, the GUR's message about the prevented terrorist attack was deleted, and the SBU then issued a different, narrower formulation. Thus, at least two non-matching interpretations coexist publicly: "thwarting the preparation of a terrorist attack" and "an armed attack on security forces with the use of weapons." Until the investigation is concluded, both versions remain open, and it is precisely this discrepancy that requires careful monitoring.

Position of the SBU and the Office of the Prosecutor General

After noon on September 2, the Security Service of Ukraine came forward with an official statement. According to it, while conducting searches at one of the addresses as part of the terrorist attack investigation, an armed attack was carried out on SBU officers, and the attackers, as stated, blocked the passage of law enforcement officers with vehicles. The "Alpha" special unit was deployed to stop the resistance, law enforcement officers used their weapons, resulting in injuries; the attackers were detained. The SBU reported that, according to its data, the detainees belong to one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and weapons and documents were seized from them. The Office of the Prosecutor General, for its part, announced the opening of an investigation on the grounds of the threat to and encroachment on the life of a law enforcement officer; investigative actions are ongoing.

Context and Next Steps

The totality of the statements indicates that the incident is being investigated along several lines: the investigation into the use of weapons and the encroachment on the life of a security officer, as well as the verification of the circumstances related to the alleged terrorist attack and the kidnapping of a military serviceman. The key question remains which specific units and under what circumstances became involved in the shooting, and whether the versions about "criminal orders" pointed out by the Head of the Presidential Office will be confirmed. Until the final data of the investigation is published, both public interpretations — of the prevented terrorist attack and of the attack on SBU officers — should be considered non-final.