Deputy commander of Russian Volunteer Corps claims Ukraine's Security Service tried to discredit head of President's Office using his testimony

Stepan Kaplunov, Deputy Commander for Combat Operations of the Russian Volunteer Corps , has claimed that Ukraine's Security Service (SSU) has attempted to use him to discredit Timur Special Unit deputy commander Dmytro Ivanov and Head of President's Office Kyrylo Budanov.

Source: Kaplunov's video statement published on the Russian Volunteer Corps Telegram channel

Quote: "I, Stepan Kaplunov, was unlawfully abducted by SSU officers on 23 August. According to our information, for the first three days I was personally handled by [acting SSU Head] General [Oleksandr] Poklad. Through physical and psychological pressure, they tried to use me to discredit Dmytro Ivanov, the deputy commander of the Timur Special Unit, and Kyrylo Budanov in order to accuse them of cooperating with the FSB."

Details: He also added that, during his absence, SSU officers allegedly attempted to enter his home and "plant unknown items".

"They came in carrying large sports bags. We have video footage. Our side has contacted the State Bureau of Investigation to look into the situation," Kaplunov said.

Later, the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) posted CCTV footage on its Telegram channel showing a group of men wearing hoods and caps and carrying a large bag heading, according to the RVC, towards Kaplunov's apartment. The RVC said the incident took place on 24 August.

Background:

• On 1 September, the Russian Volunteer Corps said that its deputy commander for combat operations, Stepan Kaplunov, had been abducted by unknown individuals in the courtyard of a residential building.
• On the morning of 2 September, reports spread on social media about a shootout said to be between Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) and the Security Service of Ukraine in Kyiv's Dniprovskyi district, and that it was somehow connected to Kaplunov's disappearance.
• Meanwhile, the SSU said in the morning that, together with DIU, it had foiled a terrorist attack against a leader of a Russian opposition political national movement who had arrived in Ukraine.
• Later, Kaplunov's lawyer, Taras Borovskyi, said that the serviceman had been released, but his whereabouts were unknown.
• On the morning of 3 September, the SSU released a video in which Kaplunov admitted to having links to Russia's Federal Security Service and said an attempt had been made to recruit him to assassinate Ukrainian military personnel and other individuals. However, his lawyer insists that the confession was made under duress.
• Kaplunov himself said on 3 September that he had been abducted by SSU officers and described how he had been made to confess under duress.

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