2 suspects in killing of Ukrainian intelligence officer eliminated

According to Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), two agents linked to the Russian security service (FSB) were eliminated following the killing of a high-ranking intelligence officer in Kyiv. This was reported by the BBC.

SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk said in a video address on Sunday that two individuals spying for Russia were “eliminated while resisting arrest.”

This statement came after Ukrainian intelligence colonel Ivan Voronich was shot dead in the capital Kyiv on July 10. CCTV footage shows the incident occurred around 09:00 in the morning in the southern Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv. The footage shows an unknown person running toward Voronich as he exits a building.

According to the SBU, the suspects had monitored Voronich’s movements in advance and retrieved a special pistol from a hidden location to carry out the assassination. After the killing, the perpetrators tried to flee, but they were identified and neutralized as a result of a joint investigation by the SBU and national police.

Ukraine’s national police said the individuals killed were foreign nationals, but gave no further details. Russian officials have not yet commented on the matter.

While the SBU mainly deals with internal security and counterintelligence, it has actively participated in sabotage and covert operations inside Russia since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. The death of high-ranking Russian general Igor Kirillov in December 2024 was also the result of an SBU operation. Likewise, Moscow blamed Kyiv for an April 2025 attack in Moscow that killed general Yaroslav Moskalik.

Nevertheless, Ukraine has not officially claimed responsibility for these operations.

These incidents coincide with a sharp increase in Russian airstrikes against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this week that the country had experienced the largest air attack from Russia. According to the United Nations, June recorded the highest number of civilian casualties in Ukraine in the last three years.

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