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The Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) reported that its deputy commander for combat operations, Stepan Kaplunov, was abducted by unknown individuals in the courtyard of his home. RVC chief of staff Aleksandr Fortuna stated that they immediately contacted the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the State Bureau of Investigation, but have not received information on his whereabouts or charges.

Kyiv, Kyiv

Date note: The abduction occurred 'several days ago' relative to the report date of 2026-09-01, so the exact date is not established.

Verified Independently confirmed by 7 sources
Ukrainska Pravda Meduza Ukrinform Kyiv Independent Kyiv Post UNIAN Censor.NET

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Entities

Russian Volunteer Corps (organization) Stepan Kaplunov (person) Aleksandr Fortuna (person) Tetiana Sapian (person) State Bureau of Investigation (organization) Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (organization) Security Service of Ukraine (organization) Taras Borovskyi (person) Kyiv (location) Volodymyr Zelenskyy (person) Vladimir Putin (person) Steve Witkoff (person) Jared Kushner (person) Ukrainian Security Service (organization) Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine (organization) Russia (organization) Ruslan Horbenko (person) Kyiv Oblast (location) Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office (organization) Criminal Code of Ukraine (organization) Tymur Tkachenko (person) Kyiv Region (location) Oleksandr Mishchenko (person) Yo Osumi (person) Japan (organization) Ukraine (organization) International Monetary Fund (organization) Serhii Koretskyi (person) European Union (organization) National Anti-Corruption Bureau (organization) Ruslan Kravchenko (person) Ukrainian Parliament (organization) Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (organization) Ukrainian Government (organization) Moscow (location) Verkhovna Rada (organization) Ukrainian Ministry of Defense (organization) Accounting Chamber (organization) Russian Ministry of Defense (organization) Darnytsia locomotive depot (location) India (organization) Prosecutor General's Office (organization) PURL (organization) reactive drone (weapon_system) ballistic missile (weapon_system) Kyiv City State Administration (organization) government (organization) frontline territories (location) Serhiy Danilov (person) Center for Middle East Studies (organization) Crimea (location) Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (organization) Servant of the People (organization) Kyrylo Budanov (person) Viktor Dubovyk (person) Office of the President (organization) High Anti-Corruption Court (organization) Maksym Mykytas (person) Donald Trump (person) United States (organization) SSU (organization) DIU (organization) FSB (organization) Main Intelligence Directorate (organization) Ministry of Defence (organization) Cabinet of Ministers (organization) Defence Intelligence (organization) Timur (military_unit) Alfa (military_unit)

Source Reports

RVC deputy commander for combat operations Stepan Kaplunov was abducted by unknown individuals in the courtyard of his home.

RVC contacted Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine and the State Bureau of Investigation regarding the abduction.

The State Bureau of Investigation confirmed it received a statement from the serviceman's lawyers and is examining it to determine if it should be entered into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations.

In early September, Vladimir Putin ordered a three-day halt to strikes on Kyiv while Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited both capitals.

A pretrial investigation has been launched into another Russian war crime that resulted in fatalities, under Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

This included his recent trip to Kyiv, where he participated in meetings with President Zelensky and top negotiators

Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi on Tuesday, Sept. 1, warned of austerity measures to relieve the country’s budget deficit.

Koretskyi told Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, that the government is working on budget cuts to redirect funding to defense, as the country currently faces a $27 billion budget deficit.

He reassured that key social payments – including pensions and salaries – would not be affected, according to state media Ukrinform.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the air attack on Kyiv involved a significant number of reactive drones and ballistic missiles.

Russian Volunteer Corps fighter Stepan Kaplunov claims that he was detained and forced to falsely incriminate former DIU chief and current head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Budanov.

Russian Volunteer Corps deputy commander Stepan Kaplunov was abducted near his home several days ago.

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