--- title: "Zelensky Dismisses SBU Department Head Oleksiy Hramov Amid Beresnezhky Shootout" description: "Zelensky dismissed Oleksiy Hramov, head of the SBU’s Department for the Protection of State Secrets and Licensing. The decree was signed against the backdrop of the Beresnezhky shootout and contradictory statements by the security services." date: 2026-09-02T19:30:07.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/zelensky-dismisses-sbu-department-head-hramov tags: [ukraine, sbu, zelensky, security-service, personnel-changes] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Zelensky Dismisses SBU Department Head Oleksiy Hramov Amid Beresnezhky Shootout ![Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his desk amid SBU leadership changes](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/03/zelensky-uvolil-hramova-iz-sbu/zelensky-uvolil-hramova-iz-sbu-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - Zelensky signed a decree dismissing Oleksiy Hramov from the post of head of the SBU’s Department for the Protection of State Secrets and Licensing; the reasons are not specified in the document. - Hramov had held the position since March 6, 2023. - The decree coincided in time with the shooting in Beresnezhky, which the SBU and GUR initially called an operation to prevent a terrorist attack and later described as an attack on an investigative team. - The OPG launched a pre-trial investigation; Zelensky called the situation “utterly shameful.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree dismissing Oleksiy Hramov from the post of Head of the Department for the Protection of State Secrets and Licensing of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the document. The text of the decree states directly: “Dismiss Hramov Oleksiy Vitaliyovych from the position of Head of the Department for the Protection of State Secrets and Licensing of the Security Service of Ukraine.” At the same time, the reasons for the head of state’s personnel decision are not disclosed in the document. Hramov had held this post since March 6, 2023. ### The Personnel Decision and Its Timeline The dismissal decree was published on Wednesday, September 2, 2026. According to several media outlets, the decision was made “suddenly” and without any public explanation of the motives, which in itself sparked widespread resonance. Some sources link the personnel change to the president’s statements about the need for personnel decisions in the law-enforcement structures following the shooting incident in Kyiv. Formally, however, the document itself does not cite grounds for the dismissal, and there is no publicly confirmed link between the decree and a specific event. ### Context: the Shootout in the Capital’s Beresnezhky District The personnel decision coincided in time with an incident on the night of September 2 at 10 Yurii Shumsky Street (the Beresnezhky district of Kyiv), where a shooting took place. In the morning, the SBU and the GUR (Military Intelligence Directorate) reported that they were carrying out an operation to prevent a terrorist attack that, according to their data, the Russian FSB had planned against one of the Russian opposition figures in Ukraine. RBC-Ukraine sources indicated that this referred to Stepan Kaplunov, a deputy commander of the RDV (Russian Democratic Corps). Later, the GUR’s statement about carrying out such an operation disappeared from open sources. ### Reaction of the Security Services and the Prosecutor’s Office Subsequently, the SBU presented a different picture: during a search at one of the addresses, the operational-investigative team was allegedly attacked by armed individuals who also blocked the way for law-enforcement officers with their vehicles. To stop the resistance, according to the agency’s data, the special unit “Alpha” was deployed. The SBU reported that people were wounded as a result of the use of weapons and that the attackers were detained, with the agency naming them members of the military personnel of one of the units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Office of the Prosecutor General launched a pre-trial investigation into the fact of a threat to and an encroachment on the life of law-enforcement officers. GUR head Kyrylo Budanov, in a comment to RBC-Ukraine, stated that the National Police (GBR) and the OPG were clarifying all the circumstances, and called for a thorough and impartial investigation. Zelensky himself called the situation “utterly shameful” and stated that all the circumstances of the conflict must be established. ### Contradictory Data The parties’ versions of the essence of the incident diverge. The morning version from the SBU and the GUR described the event as an operation to prevent a terrorist attack planned by the Russian FSB against a Russian opposition figure (according to sources — Stepan Kaplunov). The later SBU version characterizes the same episode as an armed attack on the investigative team by members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and the GUR’s statement about “preventing a terrorist attack” was removed. Thus, two non-matching narratives have been presented publicly: one about a counter-terrorism operation and one about a confrontation between law-enforcement officers and armed individuals. In addition, the official reasons for Hramov’s dismissal have not been named, although the timeline points to a link with this incident; both of these inconsistencies require further verification. ### What This May Mean The coincidence in time of the decree dismissing the head of the relevant SBU department and the high-profile shooting incident, as well as Zelensky’s public assessment of the situation as “shameful,” allow one to assume that the personnel decision is part of the country’s leadership’s reaction to what happened. Nevertheless, since the motives are not specified in the document and the security services’ versions of the nature of the shootout contradict each other, final conclusions about the reasons for the dismissal and the nature of the incident are possible only after the completion of the pre-trial investigation, which is being conducted by the Office of the Prosecutor General and the National Police. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [Zelensky Suddenly Dismisses One of the SBU Officials](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/zelenskiy-raptovo-zvilniv-odnogo-visokoposadovtsiv-1788376937.html) - Подтверждает факт подписания указа об увольнении Храмова и цитирует текст документа; приводит детали инцидента на Березняках и версию о Каплунове. - [“An Absolutely Shameful Situation.” Zelensky Makes a Personnel Decision After the Security Services’ Shootout ...](https://www.gazeta.ru/politics/2026/09/02/23493673.shtml) - Подтверждает кадровое решение и оценку Зеленского ситуации как «позорной»; связывает решение с перестрелкой. - [Zelensky Dismisses the Head of an SBU Department After a Statement on Personnel Decisions](https://ru.slovoidilo.ua/2026/09/02/novost/bezopasnost/zelenskij-uvolil-rukovoditelya-departamenta-sbu-posle-zayavleniya-kadrovyx-resheniyax) - Подтверждает увольнение руководителя департамента СБУ и связь с заявлениями о кадровых решениях. - [Zelensky Suddenly Dismisses One of the Senior SBU Officials: What Is Known (Decree)](https://focus.ua/politics/766559-zelenskiy-vnezapno-uvolil-odnogo-iz-vysokopostavlennyh-chinovnikov-sbu-chto-izvestno-ukaz) - Подтверждает факт «внезапного» увольнения высокопоставленного чиновника СБУ и ссылается на указ. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: Who was dismissed and from which position? **A:** By presidential decree, Oleksiy Hramov was dismissed from the position of Head of the Department for the Protection of State Secrets and Licensing of the SBU, which he had held since March 6, 2023. ### Q: Are the reasons for the dismissal specified? **A:** No, the text of the decree does not cite the reasons for the personnel decision. A number of media outlets link the decision to the shooting incident in Beresnezhky, but this link has not been officially confirmed. ### Q: What happened in Beresnezhky on September 2? **A:** On the night of September 2, a shooting took place at 10 Yurii Shumsky Street in Kyiv. The SBU and GUR first reported an operation to prevent a terrorist attack; later the SBU described the episode as an attack on an investigative team; the OPG launched a pre-trial investigation.