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A senior officer of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) was shot dead in a car park in Kyiv in broad daylight, officials have confirmed. The attack took place shortly after 09:00 local time (06:00 GMT) on Thursday in the city’s southern Holosiivskyi district. The assailant, who remains unidentified, approached the victim, fired multiple shots, and fled the scene, according to CCTV footage verified by Reuters.
The SBU did not officially name the officer, but Ukrainian media outlets have identified him as Colonel Ivan Voronych. The footage shows a man in jeans and a dark T-shirt, carrying a plastic bag and a holdall, walking towards a car when the attacker, dressed in dark shorts and possibly wearing body armour, runs towards him and opens fire. Reports from Ukrainska Pravda, citing unnamed sources, claim the assailant used a pistol and shot the officer five times. Kyiv police confirmed they found a man’s body with gunshot wounds at the scene and are working to identify and apprehend the suspect. The SBU stated it is undertaking “a comprehensive set of measures” to investigate the crime and bring those responsible to justice. No motive for the killing has been disclosed by either the police or the SBU. The assassination comes amid heightened tensions in Ukraine, following what officials described as Russia’s largest aerial assault on Tuesday, involving 728 drones and 13 missiles targeting cities across the country. Overnight into Thursday, another Russian attack on Kyiv killed at least two people and injured 16, with 18 missiles and 400 drones striking eight districts of the capital. The SBU, Ukraine’s domestic security agency, is primarily tasked with counter-intelligence and internal security, similar to the UK’s MI5. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the agency has also been linked to high-profile operations, including assassinations and sabotage inside Russia. Ukrainian security sources have previously claimed responsibility for the killing of Russian General Igor Kirillov in December 2024, though they have not officially admitted to other high-profile attacks, such as the car bomb killing of General Yaroslav Moskalik in Moscow earlier this year. As Russia continues its offensive in eastern Ukraine and regains control of parts of its Kursk region, seized by Ukrainian forces last summer, the war—now in its fourth year—shows no signs of abating. Efforts to negotiate a ceasefire have stalled, with US President Donald Trump expressing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin while announcing resumed weapons shipments to Ukraine. The killing of the SBU officer underscores the ongoing violence and complex security challenges facing Ukraine, both on the front lines and within its capital.
