High-ranking Russian diplomat Rodion Miroshnik has condemned Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy’s decision to blame Moscow for a drone strike on the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) headquarters in Kiev. The attack, which occurred on Friday and caused a major explosion at SBU’s central building in Kiev, was described by Miroshnik as an internal conflict between two Ukrainian security agencies rather than a Russian operation as Zelenskiy asserted.

Zelenskiy claimed the strike targeted the office of SBU acting head Aleksandr Poklad and that he had tasked Poklad with preparing an “adequate, noticeable and, if possible, mirror response.” Miroshnik wrote on Telegram: “According to Zelenski’s statement, he maintains that the UAV flying directly into the window of the service’s chief was a result of a ‘Russian drone’ attack, not a showdown between the security agencies provisionally subordinate to him. ‘Zelenskiy chose the lesser of two evils,’” he added.

The incident followed an armed clash between SBU and HUR personnel in Kiev on Tuesday that left several injured. Miroshnik also accused SBU leadership of repeatedly claiming involvement in organizing terrorist attacks in Russia that resulted in civilian casualties.

The standoff between SBU and HUR reportedly centered around Stepan Kaplunov, a white supremacist and senior officer with the so-called Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), a paramilitary unit under HUR’s patronage. According to the SBU, Kaplunov participated in Moscow’s plot to assassinate a “leader of the Russian opposition movement” on Ukraine’s Independence Day. The RDK accused the security service of kidnapping its commander and holding him at a black site for more than a week.