Video: After the shooting on Shumskogo Street in Kyiv, Kaplunov's attorney reported a kidnapping
Taras Borovskyi, the attorney for Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander of the RDK, stated that his client was abducted on August 23. According to the defense attorney, a shooting occurred during subsequent investigative proceedings in Kyiv on September 1, resulting in injuries to GUR personnel.
Borovskyi reported this from the scene.
According to the lawyer, the deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) was allegedly abducted by SBU officers on August 23 in Kyiv. Then, on the night of August 31, a shooting occurred near the building where Kaplunov lived and to which he had been taken for a search of his apartment.
“Why do I say ‘abducted’ rather than ‘detained’? Because a detention requires the drafting of a detention report, the presence of a lawyer, an interpreter if necessary, and so on,” the lawyer stated, emphasizing that on August 23, Kaplunov was forcibly shoved into a car and driven off in an unknown direction.
The lawyer claims that from August 23 until late on September 1, neither he nor Kaplunov’s colleagues knew where he was. Borovskyi also stated that they contacted the SBU but received no response. At the SBU detention center, he said, they were told that Kaplunov was not there.
Borovskyi told reporters that on the night of September 1–2, SBU officers brought Kaplunov to the apartment where he lived to conduct an emergency search.
According to the lawyer, officers from the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) were present at the scene and raised the alarm, after which Kaplunov’s associates began arriving at the building. Borovskyi stated that the first groups to arrive at the scene were detained, and shots were fired near the building’s entrance.
He claims that the first shots were fired around 11:00 p.m. on September 1.
According to Borovskyi, representatives of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) later arrived at the scene, after which a verbal altercation ensued. He stated that the situation was resolved following an agreement between representatives of the GUR and the SBU: the latter were to release Kaplunov and his detained comrades, while the GUR servicemen were to clear the way for the SBU vehicle.
“After shaking hands and reaching certain peaceful agreements, the majority of the GUR servicemen began to head home,” the lawyer said.
He also noted that he remained at the scene and monitored the investigative proceedings, which lasted all night. Borovskyi stated that he had no complaints regarding the work of the SBU investigators.
According to the lawyer, around 8:30 a.m., just as they were about to sign the final report on the crime scene inspection, representatives of the SBU’s special operations unit began detaining Kaplunov’s comrades.
“Our group began defending our comrades with our bare hands, pulling them back, pushing them away, and so on. The SBU officers reacted aggressively; they told everyone to step back and then opened fire,” Borovskyi said.
He claims that they initially fired warning shots, and then, according to him, the law enforcement officers opened fire on the people.
The lawyer stated that as a result of the shooting, two GUR employees were seriously wounded, and another sustained a minor injury.
According to him, after the shooting, those present were ordered to lie down on the ground. An ambulance was called to the scene, and the wounded were treated. They were subsequently hospitalized.
RDK Commander Denis Kapustin also made a brief statement to reporters.
According to him, he was present during the SBU search of the apartment of his deputy, Stepan Kaplunov. Kapustin claims that a search report exists, but “no compromising items were found in Kaplunov’s apartment,” according to an RBC-Ukraine correspondent.
In Kyiv, public transportation is operating on a modified schedule due to police roadblocks on Yuri Shumsky Street. Traffic in both directions is blocked in Bereznyaki.
Earlier, a shooting occurred in Kyiv, and law enforcement officers were spotted at the scene.
The SBU and the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) thwarted an FSB terrorist attack against a Russian opposition figure in Ukraine.
