Drone Accurately Strikes Ukraine's Security Service Headquarters—Was It a Russian Airstrike or Retaliation by a Rival Faction?
Although Zelenskyy has already erupted in anger, the ongoing clash between Ukraine’s “Zhongtong” (SBU) and “Juntong” (GUR) is far from over.
On the 4th, Russian forces launched airstrikes on multiple locations including Kyiv and Mykolaiv. The headquarters of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) in Kyiv was hit by a "geranium" drone—according to Zelenskyy, the drone’s target was specifically the office of acting SBU head Oleksandr Borkov.
On the surface, this airstrike itself isn’t particularly noteworthy—since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russian air raids on Kyiv have become routine. However, what makes this incident especially delicate is that it occurred immediately after an armed confrontation between the SBU and the Defense Ministry’s Intelligence Directorate (GUR), and the targeted building happened to be Borkov’s office.
Ukrainian media outlets have pointed out that although the Russian Defense Ministry announced the airstrike on the 4th, it did not specify that the attack was aimed at government buildings in Kyiv. On that day, other government structures in Kyiv remained unharmed—only the SBU headquarters was struck. Since the beginning of the war, Russian forces have rarely directly targeted government buildings in Kyiv.
Given this context, after Zelenskyy forcibly suppressed the conflict between the SBU and GUR, some Ukrainian media began suspecting that this attack might have been a so-called “false flag operation” orchestrated by the GUR. Having suffered significant setbacks during the earlier gunfight, the GUR may have used the Russian airstrike as a pretext to retaliate against the SBU.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1875471005602816/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.