Security camera footage released Tuesday shows Colonel Ivan Voronich, an officer of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), leaving his Kyiv apartment building in civilian clothes, carrying a bag, and walking towards the parking lot. He appeared to be unarmed.
A masked suspect approached Colonel Voronich. As the SBU officer passed a guard post and stood next to a car, the suspect opened fire, causing him to fall to the ground. The suspect then fired several more shots. A woman who witnessed the incident fled the area. After killing Voronich, the suspect tucked the gun away and ran from the scene.
The assassination took place in the Holosiivsky district of Kyiv. Police have launched an investigation and confirmed the victim died from multiple gunshot wounds. The suspect's identity and motive remain unknown, though former Ukrainian MP Igor Mosiychuk has accused Russia of being behind the attack.
Russian officials have not commented on the accusation.
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 Voronich "was actively involved in operations against Russia since 2014," the year Moscow annexed Crimea and fighting broke out between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian military in Donbas.
"The motive for the assassination could be domestic, but if this was a Russian operation, the SBU must immediately take countermeasures," Bakanov said.
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Police at the scene of Colonel Ivan Voronich's assassination in Kyiv on 10/7. Photo: Glavcom |
According to a former colleague, Voronich at one point headed Department 5, a unit specializing in assassinating separatist leaders in Donbas, reportedly with support from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Department 5 assassinated a senior separatist commander, Arsen Pavlov, in October 2016.
Other colleagues said Voronich was a member of an elite unit operating in the grey zone between Ukrainian and Russian-controlled territory. His unit played a key role in the August 2024 Ukrainian offensive in Kursk.
The SBU is Ukraine's primary domestic intelligence agency, focusing on counterintelligence and anti-corruption efforts. However, it has also been directly involved in the conflict. SBU special forces have been linked to assassinations of Russian officers and pro-Russian officials in Russian-controlled territories, and they also command private military units.
Nguyen Tien (According to AP, AFP, Yahoo News)
