Ukraine says it killed Russian agents who assassinated senior intel officer
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
‘Only one prospect for the enemy, death’: Top Russian agents killed after brazen assassination of Ukrainian colonel in Kyiv, says SBU
Ukraine’s intelligence agency, the SBU, has announced that it has killed two Russian agents believed to be behind the recent assassination of a senior Ukrainian officer. Colonel Ivan Voronych was shot several times in broad daylight in a parking lot in Kyiv last Thursday. The SBU described the assassination as one of the boldest attacks on a high-ranking Ukrainian official since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. The two suspects, a man and a woman, were working for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) They had tracked Col Voroniesch’S daily routine, studied his travel routes, and used a pistol with a silencer retrieved from a hidden weapons cache to kill him.
How were the suspects found?
The SBU said the two suspects, a man and a woman, were working for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). They had tracked Col Voronych’s daily routine, studied his travel routes, and used a pistol with a silencer retrieved from a hidden weapons cache to kill him.
After the killing, the suspects attempted to remain hidden. But following a joint investigation with Ukraine’s national police, the duo were located and killed during a special operation on Sunday morning, after resisting arrest and opening fire.
Ukrainian says, “Only one prospect for the enemy, death”
The head of the SBU, Lt Gen Vasyl Malyuk, personally led the operation and later released a video message at the site of the raid. He said, “I would like to remind you that the only prospect of the enemy on the territory of Ukraine is death.” Video footage showed the bodies of the two agents lying on the ground, partially concealed by branches and grass. Ukrainian police confirmed the two were “citizens of a foreign country,” without naming them. Russia has not issued any official response yet.
What do we know about the assassination?
The attack took place just after 9:00 am local time in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district, according to CCTV footage verified by Reuters. Col Voronych was approached by a gunman as he left a building, and was shot at close range. The assailant then fled the scene. The SBU had earlier described the incident as the work of a lone shooter, but later clarified that two people had worked together on the killing under Russian orders.
Voronych reportedly played a key role in sabotage missions inside Russia, which may have made him a high-priority target. Russian military bloggers and commentators praised the killing. One, war correspondent Aleksandr Kots, said on Telegram, “The enemy must be afraid on his own territory.”
Why does this matter?
Ukraine rarely makes public announcements about its internal counterintelligence operations. The decision to reveal this case and claim the deaths of two Russian agents signals how seriously Kyiv is treating Russia’s efforts to carry out assassinations inside Ukraine. Lt Gen Malyuk said that “about 85 per cent” of attempted Russian operations inside Ukraine are foiled, a claim that could not be independently confirmed.
While Ukraine has successfully targeted several top Russian officials, including generals and a senior naval commander, Russia has had fewer successes with similar missions inside Ukraine.
Ukraine’s security agency says it killed Russian agents suspected of gunning down its officer
Ukraine’s security agency says it tracked down and killed Russian agents suspected of shooting one of its senior officers to death. The Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, said in a statement that the suspected Russian agents were killed in the Kyiv region after they offered resistance to arrest. A video released by the agency showed two bodies lying on the ground.
The agency said earlier that a man and a woman were suspected to be involved in Thursday’s assassination of Ivan Voronych, an SBU colonel, in a bold daylight attack that was caught on surveillance cameras.
Advertisement Advertisement
Media reports claimed that Voronych was involved in covert operations in Russia-occupied territories of Ukraine and reportedly helped organize Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region last year.
Advertisement
After a series of massive attacks across Ukraine involving hundreds of exploding drones, Russia launched 60 drones overnight, Ukraine’s air force said. It said 20 of them were shot down and 20 others were jammed.
The Ukrainian authorities reported that four civilians were killed and 13 others injured in Russian attacks on the Donetsk and Kherson regions since Saturday.
——
Russia’s agents killed after intelligence officer shot dead, says Ukraine
Russia’s agents killed after intelligence officer shot dead, says Ukraine Security Service. It comes after Col Ivan Voronych was shot several times in a Kyiv car park. CCTV footage shows a man leaving a building in Kyiv’s southern Holosiivskyi district shortly after 09:00 local time (06:00 GMT) Ukraine’s national police said the two agents killed were “citizens of a foreign country”, without giving any further details.
2 hours ago Share Save Maia Davies BBC News Share Save
Reuters CCTV footage shows Ukrainian intelligence officer Ivan Voronych in Kyiv shortly before he was shot dead on 10 July
Ukraine said two agents working for Russia have been killed after a senior Ukrainian intelligence officer was shot dead on Thursday. The head of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), Vasyl Malyuk, said in a video statement that two agents working for Russia’s security service FSB had been tracked down and “liquidated” after they resisted arrest on Sunday morning. It comes after Col Ivan Voronych was shot several times in a Kyiv car park in broad daylight, after being approached by an unidentified assailant who fled the scene. On Sunday, Ukraine’s national police said the two agents killed were “citizens of a foreign country”, without giving any further details. Moscow had no immediate response.
CCTV footage of the incident on 10 July – verified by the news agency Reuters – showed a man leaving a building in Kyiv’s southern Holosiivskyi district shortly after 09:00 local time (06:00 GMT), while another man ran towards him. The SBU said on Sunday the suspects had been tracking Col Voronych’s movements prior to the attack, and were sent the co-ordinates of a hiding place where they found a pistol with a silencer. It said that after he was shot, they then tried to “lay low,” but were found following a joint investigation with national police. The SBU mainly focuses on internal security and counter-intelligence, like the UK’s MI5. But it has played a prominent role in sabotage attacks and assassinations deep inside Russia since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Sources within Ukraine’s security services told the BBC that the SBU was responsible for the killing of the high-ranking Russian Gen Igor Kirillov in December 2024. In April, Gen Yaroslav Moskalik was killed in a car bomb attack in Moscow – which the Kremlin blamed on Kyiv. Ukraine’s security services have never officially admitted responsibility for the deaths.
Two Russian FSB Agents Killed After Assassinating Ukraine Spy Colonel: Kyiv
Ukraine’s Security Service said on Sunday that it successfully tracked down and “neutralized” two Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agents in Kyiv on July 10. The events were conducted under the procedural guidance of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine. The head of the Ukrainian special service thanked the employees of the National Police of Ukraine for their professionalism and support, emphasizing that “effective counteraction to Russian special services is a key area of activity for the Security Service” The two agents, identified as a man and a woman, were dispatched into Ukraine several days before Voronych was gunned down in the Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district. The incident was reported by the Ukrainian government’s official news agency, the RBC-Ukraine, on Sunday morning. The SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk said the two agents “were eliminated” during a special operation. The FSB chief also said that the two men and women were killed during the special operation, which was conducted during the morning.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said on Sunday that it successfully tracked down and “neutralized” two Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agents who were suspected of assassinating Colonel Ivan Voronych, a high-ranking SBU Special Operations Centre officer, in Kyiv on July 10.
Newsweek has contacted the SBU, Ukrainian officials, and the FSB on Sunday via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Colonel Voronych served in the Special Operations Center (Alpha) and led high-risk operations targeting Russian military assets. As reported by RBC-Ukraine, his unit was involved in sabotage operations behind enemy lines and was credited with eliminating high-ranking members of the Russian administration.
His assassination marked a significant and brazen escalation in the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia that began in February 2022 when Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded the Eastern European nation.
What To Know
As reported by Newsweek, Voronych was shot dead as he left his home in Kyiv on Thursday morning. A masked gunman approached the senior intelligence officer from a residential parking lot and shot him several times with a silenced handgun before fleeing.
According to SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk, the two agents, identified as a man and a woman, were dispatched into Ukraine several days before Voronych was gunned down in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district.
Surveillance footage captured the two suspects following Voronych to a firearms cache where they retrieved a suppressed pistol. Around 9 a.m. local time on July 10, they ambushed and fatally shot him.
An update posted to the Ukrainian government Telegram channel stated: “The SBU eliminated the killers who killed the Security Service colonel in Kyiv. During a special operation, employees of the Security Service of Ukraine eliminated agents of the Russian special services who, on the instructions of the FSB of the Russian Federation, carried out the murder of the SBU colonel in Kyiv.
“The special operation to find the killers of the Ukrainian defender was personally led by the head of the SBU, Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk. The FSB agent-combat group was routed to Ukraine in advance and three days ago committed the murder of an SBU employee, our brother Colonel Ivan Voronych.”
SBU and National Police located the pair in Kyiv Oblast during a special operation led personally by Malyuk. When the agents resisted arrest, a gunfight ensued, ending with both suspects being killed in the operation
“SBU and National Police officers established their location in the Kyiv region. This morning, a special operation was conducted, during which members of the FSB intelligence and combat group of the Russian Federation began to resist, so they were eliminated,” the post said.
It went on to say that the head of the Ukrainian special service thanked the employees of the National Police of Ukraine for their professionalism and support, emphasizing that “effective counteraction to Russian special services is a key area of activity for the Security Service.”
The events were conducted under the procedural guidance of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, the post said.
Servicemen of the National Guard of Ukraine and members of the SBU security service hold an anti-terror drills in Slavyansk, eastern Ukraine, on October 13, 2020. Servicemen of the National Guard of Ukraine and members of the SBU security service hold an anti-terror drills in Slavyansk, eastern Ukraine, on October 13, 2020. GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images
What Is Happening in Ukraine?
Moscow has been escalating its aerial attacks and making advances in Eastern Ukraine, as President Donald Trump tries to broker an end to the war.
Ukraine said Russia fired hundreds of drones and long-range missiles across the country overnight, in what the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) described on Saturday in an assessment as the third combined strike with over 500 drones and missiles in July alone.
“Twenty-six cruise missiles and 597 attack drones were launched, of which more than half were ‘Shaheds’ [Iranian-made drones],” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening speech. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, 319 Shahed drones and 25 missiles were brought down, while one missile and about 20 drones had hit “five locations.”
“The Russians are intensifying terror against cities and communities to increasingly intimidate our people. But despite Moscow’s plans, the air defense forces are achieving good results,” Zelensky wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday morning.
What People Are Saying
Head of the SBU, Vasyl Malyuk, as reported on the Ukrainian government’s Telegram channel: “As a result of covert investigative and active counterintelligence activities, the enemy lair was discovered. During the detention, they began to resist, there was a gunfight, so the villains were eliminated. I want to remind you that the enemy’s only prospect on the territory of Ukraine is death!”
What Happens Next?
The killing of two FSB agents in a Ukrainian intelligence operation marks one of the boldest direct actions against Russian operatives inside Ukraine in recent months and raises the stakes in a shadow war defined by high-profile reprisals and covert escalations.
Update 7/13/25, 10:43 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
Ukraine says it killed Russian agents who assassinated senior intel officer
Col. Ivan Voronych was shot dead in a Kyiv parking lot in broad daylight on Thursday. It was one of the most brazen assassinations of a top-ranking Ukrainian officer on domestic soil by Russia since its full-scale invasion in 2022. The SBU said a man and woman, acting on instructions from Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, retrieved a pistol with a silencer from a secret cache and killed him. The identities of the duo were not publicly released; the SBU previously said that VoronyCh was killed by a lone assailant.
The SBU, which previously said that Voronych was killed by a lone assailant, said on Sunday that a man and woman, acting on instructions from Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, studied Voronych’s daily schedule and travel routes before retrieving a pistol with a silencer from a secret cache and killing him. The identities of the duo were not publicly released.
Advertisement Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement Advertisement
The assassination of Voronych — who was reportedly involved in high-profile attacks against targets in Russia — was cheered by Russian commentators, including by prominent war correspondent Aleksandr Kots, who posted on Telegram: “The enemy must be afraid on his own territory.”
But in the three days after Voronych’s death, the SBU mounted a special operation personally led by the agency’s top official, Lt. Gen. Vasyl Malyuk, to hunt down the killers. Counterintelligence led the SBU to the “enemy lair,” Malyuk said in a recorded video address at the scene of the raid, which appeared to be in a residential area.
The two Russian agents were killed after resisting arrest and firing weapons, Malyuk said. In the video, their bodies are seen prone on the ground, partially covered by dead branches and other foliage, a white purse askew in the grass.
Advertisement
“I would like to remind you that the only prospect of the enemy on the territory of Ukraine is death,” Malyuk said in the statement.
Though Ukraine has claimed responsibility for a string of high-profile killings of senior officials in Russia — among them at least 12 major and lieutenant generals as well as a top Russian Naval commander earlier this month — Russia has proven less able to carry out similar targeted killings in Ukraine. Malyuk asserted that about “85 percent of the crimes that the enemy tries to commit” in Ukraine are foiled. The claim could not be verified independently.
Voronych’s assassination happened amid a brutal week in which Russia launched more than 1,800 drones, 1,200 glide bombs and 83 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday.