Senior Ukrainian spy shot dead in Kyiv in daylight attack with silenced pistol

A top Ukrainian spy was shot dead by a gunman using a silenced pistol on the streets of Kyiv. Colonel Ivan Voronich, a top operational officer in Ukraine's security service, was walking across the street in the capital's Holosiivskyi district when he was approached by a gunman on Thursday morning. Video posted on Telegram captured the moment Col Voronich was gunned down five times alongside a line of parked vehicles.

After the attack, a man is seen running in the opposite direction down the street while stuffing a gun into his shorts. Former Ukrainian intelligence officer Roman Chervinsky said Col Voronich was assassinated as he left his apartment building at 8am local time on Thursday. "With five shots at point-blank range leaving the apartment today at 8am, the enemy assassin did his dirty work," said Chervinsky. He said that Col Voronich had been "waging war on the enemy since 2014".

The top security service officer died on the spot, according to Ihar Mosiychuk, a former MP of Ukraine, who attributed the attack to Russian special services. Col Voronich was said to be the chief of the 1st division of Ukraine's security service 16th department, which is responsible for top-level operations such as counter-terrorism, special operations and security missions.

Both sides of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, however, have carried out assassinations since February 2022 when the war escalated. A senior Russian general and his aide were assassinated in Moscow by Ukraine's security agency last December. Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, commander of Moscow's radiation, biological and chemical defence troops, was standing outside a residential block when a remotely detonated device concealed inside a scooter exploded.

Another high-ranking Russian general was assassinated in a car bomb in Moscow early this year. Gen Yaroslav Moskalik was killed after an improvised bomb packed with pellets detonated inside a Volkswagen Golf in April. Russia's federal security service said it had killed a Ukrainian spy tasked with allegedly plotting to kill a defence industry executive in September 2024.

Moscow intensified strikes on civilians in recent months, repeatedly striking large cities like Kyiv and Dnipro. The Russian military launched a total of 741 missiles and drones on Tuesday (July 8) evening. Russia launched 400 drones and 18 missiles in a virtually 10-hour bombardment on Wednesday (July 9) evening, killing two individuals in Kyiv, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Ukrainian president continued that the attack reinforced the necessity for more sanctions on Kremlin. “This demands that we speed things up. Sanctions must be imposed faster, and pressure on Russia must be strong enough that they truly feel the consequences of their terror,” he said.