A high-ranking officer with Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) was assassinated in broad daylight in Kyiv on Thursday, according to Ukrainian officials and local media reports.
The officer, identified by Ukrainian media as Colonel Ivan Voronych, was shot multiple times shortly after 09:00 local time in a car park in the Holosiivskyi district of the capital city.
CCTV footage captured the chilling moment of the attack, showing the victim exiting a building with a plastic bag and holdall. As he approached a parked car, an assailant wearing dark shorts and what appeared to be body armor sprinted toward him and opened fire at close range before fleeing the scene.
The SBU, Ukraine's domestic intelligence and counter-intelligence agency, released a statement saying it is "taking a comprehensive set of measures to clarify all the circumstances of the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice."
Kyiv police confirmed finding the victim's body with gunshot wounds and stated that "measures are being taken to detain" the suspect. According to Ukrainska Pravda, citing unnamed sources, the assailant used a pistol and fired five shots at the officer.
While no group has claimed responsibility and officials have refrained from suggesting specific leads publicly, the assassination occurs within an increasingly complex security environment in Ukraine.
Escalating Tensions and Continued Conflict
The killing comes as Ukraine's intelligence services have taken on more visible roles in covert operations. The SBU has been credited with numerous sabotage missions and targeted assassinations inside Russian territory since Moscow's full-scale invasion began in 2022.
In December 2024, sources within Ukraine's security services reportedly claimed responsibility for the killing of Russian General Igor Kirillov. Earlier this year, another senior Russian military figure, General Yaroslav Moskalik, was killed in a car bomb blast in Moscow—an incident Russia attributed to Ukrainian agents, though Kyiv has never officially acknowledged involvement.
The assassination also follows what Ukrainian officials described as one of the most intense aerial bombardments by Russia since the war began. Just days earlier, 728 drones and 13 cruise or ballistic missiles reportedly struck multiple cities across Ukraine, causing widespread destruction and civilian casualties.
Overnight into Thursday, further Russian missile strikes on Kyiv killed at least two people and wounded 16 others, with attacks reported in eight districts. According to officials, Russia launched 18 missiles and over 400 drones, highlighting the scale and persistence of the assault on civilian infrastructure.
Meanwhile, fighting continues on the front line. Russian forces are reportedly gaining ground in eastern Ukraine and have reclaimed territory in the Kursk region that was previously seized by Ukrainian troops during a counter-offensive last summer.
As the war enters its fourth year, diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire have stagnated. Tensions between global leaders remain high, with U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly growing increasingly frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the lack of progress in peace negotiations.
Russia continues to occupy approximately one-fifth of Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.
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