The body of Colonel Ivan Voronych lies on the ground in Kyiv following a fatal shooting, 10 July 2025. Photo: NEXTA

A colonel in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has been shot dead by an unknown assailant in the country’s capital Kyiv, Ukrainian news agency Interfax-Ukraine reported on Thursday.

Colonel Ivan Voronych, who former Ukrainian intelligence officer Roman Chervinsky says “founded an initiative in the SBU causing many problems for [Russia],” was shot five times at close range as he left his apartment building on Thursday morning, according to several Ukrainian news sources citing sources in Kyiv law enforcement agencies.

Insider UA, a Ukrainian political news Telegram channel, said the shooter fled the scene of the murder in an SUV, and their identity was yet to be established.

“The Security Service and the National Police are taking comprehensive measures to clarify all the circumstances of the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice,” the SBU’s press service told Suspilne, a Ukrainian news outlet.

A former Ukrainian MP, Ihor Mosiychuk, wrote on Telegram Thursday that Voronych was a “senior operational officer” in the SBU’s Special Group Alpha. Russian investigative news outlet IStories said the unit was responsible for countering terrorist attacks, conducting reconnaissance and sabotage in other countries, and protecting Ukrainian government officials.