Ukraine's SBU Accuses Russian Volunteer Corps Commander of Plotting Assassination of Opposition Figure

Ukraine's SBU security service announced Thursday that it had uncovered a plot to assassinate a Russian opposition figure, allegedly involving a commander from the Russian Volunteer Corps, a unit of far-right Russians fighting alongside Ukrainian forces against Moscow.

Without naming the commander directly, the SBU said the individual had been in contact with Russia's FSB security service and was tasked with preparing the killing of an opposition figure expected to arrive in Ukraine on Aug. 24, the country's independence day. The agency did not disclose the identity of the intended target.

According to the SBU, the detained commander confessed and provided information that helped identify other alleged participants in the plot. Although not officially named, a confession video released alongside the statement appears to show Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander of combat operations for the unit — the same person Ukrainian media had previously reported was the actual target of the plot.

Kaplunov himself told Ukraine's Radio NV that SBU officers had "kidnapped" him and coerced him into delivering a false confession. He denied any ties to the FSB and accused the SBU of trying to fabricate charges against senior officials of Ukraine's HUR military intelligence agency.

In its own statement, the HUR, which directly oversees the Russian Volunteer Corps, warned of a "targeted disinformation campaign" against it, without specifying who might be behind it.

The dispute follows an armed clash between SBU and HUR officers in Kyiv earlier this week. Ukrainian law enforcement has opened a criminal investigation into that incident, while President Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded a public explanation from both agencies over what he called an "absolutely disgraceful situation."