The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) today announced a counterintelligence operation that uncovered the hideout of a "group of Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agents involved in the assassination of Colonel Ivan Voronich in Kyiv".
The SBU added that the two suspects, a man and a woman, were killed following a shootout with security officers. Ukrainian officials did not disclose whether their units suffered any casualties during the operation, nor have they released any evidence related to the suspects.
According to the SBU, the suspects were acting on orders from superiors and had been tracking Colonel Voronich for several days, establishing his schedule and movements. The two were then informed of the location of a hidden silenced pistol, with the male suspect carrying out the shooting.
Russian officials have not yet commented on the report.
The assassination occurred on the morning of 10/7 in the Holosiivsky district, south of Kyiv. Images circulating on social media show a man emerging from a concealed position and approaching Voronich before firing 5 consecutive shots from a silenced weapon, killing the Ukrainian intelligence colonel instantly.
Voronich was an officer in the SBU's Alpha Special Forces Unit and had served in the agency for decades. Former SBU head Ivan Bakanov stated that Voronich "was very actively involved in operations against Russia since 2014," the year Moscow annexed Crimea and conflict erupted between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army in Donbas.
According to a former colleague, Colonel Voronich at one point commanded Department 5, a unit specializing in assassinating separatist leaders in Donbas with the support of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Department 5 assassinated a senior separatist commander, Arsen Pavlov, in 10/2016.
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Special forces of the Security Service of Ukraine. Photo: SBU |
Other colleagues described Voronich as a member of an elite unit responsible for operations in the gray zone between Ukrainian and Russian-controlled territory. Voronich's unit played a key role in the offensive against Kursk Oblast launched by Ukraine in 8/2024.
The SBU is Ukraine’s primary domestic intelligence agency, focusing on counterintelligence and anti-corruption efforts, but it has also been directly involved in combat operations during the conflict. The agency's special forces have been linked to several assassinations of Russian officers and pro-Russian officials in Moscow-controlled territories, as well as commanding private military units.
Nguyen Tien (According to Reuters, AFP, AP)
