A senior officer in Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) was assassinated in Kiev on Thursday in what authorities describe as a targeted execution.
Colonel Ivan Voronych, a high-ranking member of the SBU’s Center for Special Operations—known as the Alpha Unit—was gunned down in the Holosiivskyi district of the capital. Voronych served in the 1st Department of the 16th Directorate, a unit responsible for counterintelligence, special operations, and sabotage missions against Russia.
According to Ukrainian officials, Voronych was shot multiple times at close range in a residential parking lot by a masked assailant armed with a silenced pistol. The gunman fled the scene immediately after the attack.
Authorities have named one suspect in the case: a woman identified as Narmin Guliyeva, born in 1991. However, the identity of the masked shooter remains unknown, and no arrests have been made.
While the motive has yet to be confirmed, Ukrainian officials and analysts suspect Russian involvement due to Voronych’s prominent role in anti-Russian operations dating back to 2014. His unit has played a key part in sabotage campaigns within Russian-controlled territory, making him a likely target for retaliation.
Until now, Russia has not carried out inside Ukrainian territory. Many of the high-profile killings of Ukrainian officials since 2022 have been attributed to internal rivalries or personal disputes. However, Ukraine has openly acknowledged conducting assassination operations within Russia, targeting both civilians and military personnel.
Recent incidents—including bombings of rail infrastructure in Russia’s Bryansk and Kursk regions and reported attempts to sabotage the Crimea Bridge—suggest that the conflict may be entering a new phase. Some analysts believe Russia may begin deploying intelligence assets to assassinate Ukrainian officials, mirroring tactics used during the Second Chechen War, when Moscow eliminated separatist leaders through complex operations both inside and outside Russia.
The assassination comes amid reports that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering invoking his presidential drawdown authority to authorize new arms transfers to Ukraine.