Latest news with #VasylMalyuk
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First Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
Ukraine says it killed 2 Russian agents suspected of assassinating an intelligence officer
Ukraine's Security Service said that it had killed two Russian agents suspected of killing a Ukrainian intelligence officer last week. read more CCTV footage shows the SBU officer walking down the stairs moments before he was shot in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 10. Ukrainska Pravda/Reuters As the Russia-Ukraine war continues to escalate, the Ukrainian Security Service said on Sunday that it had killed Russian special service agents suspected of killing an intelligence officer in Kyiv earlier this week. The news of the agents came days after Ukraine said that it believed Russia's Federal Security Service was responsible for the attack. On Thursday morning, SBU officer Ivan Voronych was shot dead in Kyiv in what Ukrainian authorities claimed was an apparent case of assassination. In the statement released on Sunday, the SBU maintained that the suspects, a man and a woman, tried to 'lay low' after the shooting incident. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, the SBU and the Ukrainian National Police officers managed to establish their whereabouts in the Kyiv region. 'As a result of covert investigative and active counterintelligence measures, the enemy's lair was discovered," the head of the SBU, Vasyl Malyuk, said in the statement. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has eliminated Russian intelligence agents who, on orders from the FSB, carried out the murder of an SBU Colonel in Kyiv. The special operation was led by SBU Head, Lieutenant General Vasyl Maluk. The FSB agent group was previously sent to… — Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) July 13, 2025 Why were they killed and not captured? In the same statement, Malyuk mentioned that both the Russian agents were resisting arrest, hence that measure had to be taken. 'During their arrest, they began to resist, there was an exchange of fire, and the scoundrels were eliminated,' he said. 'I want to remind you that the only prospect for the enemy on the territory of Ukraine is death!' the Ukrainian officer said in a separate video, which was apparently filmed in front of the suspect's bodies. The SBU noted that the two agents were ordered to trail their target to establish a daily routine. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD They were then directed to a safe house where they received a pistol with a silencer. It is pertinent to note that the SBU is Ukraine's main security service, responsible for both internal security and sabotage operations against Russia. Interestingly, the Ukrainian security agency was also responsible for the audacious drone attack against Russian airfields last month, under Operation Spider Web. Voronych's killing comes at a time when Russia has been escalating its attacks on Ukraine. Last week, the war-torn nation saw both the largest and the second-largest Russian drone attack on its territory as the war now enters its fourth year.
Novaya Gazeta Europe
3 days ago
- Politics
- Novaya Gazeta Europe
Pair of Russian agents suspected of killing Ukrainian security service colonel shot dead in Kyiv — Novaya Gazeta Europe
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has announced the death of two individuals suspected of recently killing a top ranking intelligence colonel, following a special targeted operation in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Sunday. In a video posted to Telegram Sunday, SBU head Vasyl Malyuk accused Russia of deploying an FSB 'agent-combat group' to Ukraine to kill Colonel Ivan Voronych, who was fatally shot five times in Kyiv on Thursday by an unidentified assailant, who then fled the scene in an SUV. Following Voronych's assassination, the SBU says its agents uncovered the location of a male and female FSB operative attempting to 'lie low' in Kyiv and killed both during a special raid after they resisted arrest. According to the SBU, a silenced pistol that was likely used to murder Voronych was discovered at the residence of the suspected FSB agents. 'I want to remind everyone that the only prospect an enemy on the territory of Ukraine has is death,' Malyuk added. On Thursday, The New York Times reported, citing one of Voronych's former colleagues, that Voronych had been a senior officer in the Fifth Directorate, an elite SBU unit responsible for killing a top Russian separatist commander named Arsen Pavlov, also known as Motorola, in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region in 2016. Additionally, several social media posts by Ukrainian politicians and former intelligence officers suggested on Thursday that Voronych had helped found the SBU's Alpha Group, which Russian investigative outlet IStories noted is responsible for countering terror attacks, conducting sabotage in other countries, and protecting Ukrainian government officials.
UPI
3 days ago
- Politics
- UPI
Ukraine, Russia trade blows in escalating spy war
Vasyl Malyuk, head of the Security Service of Ukraine, led a mission to track and capture two Russian special services agents Kyiv. The suspects, a man and a woman, resisted arrest and died during a firefight. File Photo by Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA July 13 (UPI) -- Ukraine and Russia have escalated their shadow war of espionage, sabotage and assassinations, with both countries claiming a growing list of captured agents, intercepted plots and cross-border attacks involving civilians, drones and improvised explosives. On Sunday, Ukraine's Security Service, or SBU, announced that its officers had killed two Russian special services agents in Kyiv. The pair, a man and a woman, had allegedly assassinated an SBU colonel under orders from Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB. The operation was personally led by SBU chief Lt. Gen. Vasyl Malyuk, who said the suspects were tracked and eliminated after resisting arrest. "As a result of covert search and active counterintelligence measures, the enemy's lair was discovered," Malyuk said. "During the arrest, they began to resist, there was a firefight, so the villains were eliminated." According to the agency, the Russian operatives had entered Ukraine in advance of the attack, studied the victim's daily routine, retrieved a silenced pistol from a drop site and fatally shot the officer in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district. Operation Spiderweb The killing is the latest flashpoint in a rapidly intensifying spy war that began to escalate in early June after Ukraine launched "Operation Spiderweb," a drone- and sabotage-based campaign striking military targets deep inside Russia. In the days that followed, Russia's FSB announced a string of arrests, including an SBU agent in Crimea accused of planning to use an improvised explosive device to carry out sabotage and "terrorism." Ukraine responded with its own crackdown, detaining a National Guard member in Kharkiv accused of directing Russian airstrikes against his unit, and arresting an alleged FSB agent embedded in a construction firm tasked with building military infrastructure. Both agencies began publicizing near-daily arrests, many involving civilians allegedly recruited online through Telegram or WhatsApp. On June 6, Ukraine said it captured two people working for the FSB to locate anti-aircraft systems in Dnipropetrovsk, and two more planning IED attacks on military targets in Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv. One was identified as a Ukrainian deserter. A day later, Ukraine said it detained two Russian agents who had detonated an IED in Dnipro that injured a law enforcement officer and destroyed a vehicle. On June 10, the FSB claimed to have stopped a Russian citizen allegedly preparing to attack a civilian gathering in Krasnodar on behalf of the SBU. It said Ukraine had intensified efforts to recruit Russians online, particularly via messaging apps. The same day, Ukraine said it arrested a Kharkiv woman accused of both sharing troop positions and calling for "buffer zones" in Ukraine on social media during ongoing ceasefire talks. Bomb and murder plots Ukraine detained a 57-year-old man in Lviv accused of scouting air bases for Russia, and a woman who allegedly manufactured IEDs for the Russian military intelligence agency, the GRU. That woman's devices were allegedly used by a 21-year-old in a car bombing outside a Ukrainian military administrative building in the Odesa region. Also under investigation is a sitting member of Ukraine's parliament who has been in custody since November 2024 for alleged high treason. The SBU said the politician participated in spreading Russian disinformation. On June 14, Ukraine said it arrested a man in Odesa who had just planted an explosive device intended to kill a military officer. That same day, it detained a man in Zaporizhzhia who initially drew scrutiny for pro-Russian posts on Telegram and was later accused of marking Ukrainian military sites on Google Maps for Russian airstrikes. Russia, too, expanded its intelligence efforts in occupied Ukrainian territory. On June 16, the FSB claimed it thwarted a car bombing plot in Kherson against a Russian official and the next day detained a citizen in Crimea for filming air defense systems. Ukraine answered with more arrests, including alleged informants aiding Russian airstrikes in Donetsk and an "elite GRU unit" operating near Kyiv. On June 20, the SBU said it had detained a Ukrainian deserter-turned-FSB-agent accused of plotting an assassination in Kyiv for money and arrested six people it described as "pro-Russian internet agitators." The pace continued through late June. Russia said it arrested two residents in occupied Zaporizhzhia, accused of leaking military positions to Ukraine, while Ukraine said it captured suspects hired for $400,000 to assassinate Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Gordon. It also said it had foiled two recent attempts to kill President Volodymyr Zelensky. Increasing surveillance The following day, the FSB detained two Russians for planning to bomb a gas facility in Berdyansk, while Ukraine arrested a teenager for reporting troop movements. That same day, Ukraine said it had gathered evidence to charge three Russian military officials with war crimes committed during the 2022 occupation of Bucha. On June 25, the FSB claimed to have foiled an SBU plot in Moscow. In the days that followed, it detained four Russian citizens for alleged treason and warned the public against interacting with strangers on encrypted messaging apps. That day, Ukraine said it had captured a 19-year-old Kharkiv woman who allegedly lured Ukrainian soldiers to a rigged scooter giveaway and attempted to flee after the IED exploded. Ukraine also claimed to have thwarted a similar Russian plot involving a fake date arranged through a dating app. As July began, the SBU announced it had disrupted several new Russian efforts, including reconnaissance of energy infrastructure in Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia, plotting attacks in Cherkasy, and an explosives plot targeting government buildings in Kharkiv. Russia responded on July 7 with the arrest of four citizens accused of filming energy facilities in several Russian regions. On July 8, Ukraine said it thwarted a planned bombing at a hotel in Rivne by a woman who left an IED in a guest room and attempted to detonate it remotely. Two days later, the FSB said it detained Ukrainian intelligence officers in Melitopol accused of passing along Russian troop positions. The most recent development from Russia came Friday, when it said it arrested two residents in Bryansk accused of conducting surveillance on law enforcement and military personnel for Ukrainian drone and bombing strikes. Ukraine's counterintelligence campaign has not been limited to Russia. On July 9, the SBU announced it had detained alleged Chinese spies accused of trying to collect classified information about Ukraine's Neptune missile program.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Putin hit squad sent to kill a Ukrainian colonel has been 'eliminated', says head of Kyiv's secret services
A Russian hit squad who earlier this week were said to have been sent to kill a Ukrainian secret services colonel in Kyiv have reportedly been 'eliminated'. Ukraine 's Security Service (SBU) chief, Vasyl Malyuk, said a male and female team of assassins from Vladimir Putin 's FSB security agency resisted arrest and were gunned down as a result. The SBU believed two FSB agents were behind the killing of Colonel Ivan Voronych, 50, who was shot five times near a residential block in the Ukrainian capital just three days ago with a silenced pistol in broad daylight. The wanted woman was earlier named by the SBU as Narmin Guliyeva, 34, while the man was not initially identified but was pictured. Voronych's assassination is said to have shocked Kyiv, with his role so secret that no images have since appeared of him following his death. However, it is understood that he had orchestrated clandestine missions behind Russian lines, likely including the assassinations of pro-Putin figures. Announcing today's operation, Mayluk said: 'This morning, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) carried out the detention of an agent-combat group of the Russian FSB, who had been routed to Ukraine in advance, and three days ago committed the murder of SBU officer Colonel Ivan Voronych, our brave comrade.' The Ukrainian spymaster said he had personally led the operation to hunt down the killers, adding: 'As a result of covert investigative and active counterintelligence operations, the enemy hideout was located, and this morning, active measures were taken to detain them. The SBU believed two FSB agents were behind the killing of Colonel Ivan Voronych (above, minutes before he died), 50, who was shot five times near a residential block in the Ukrainian capital just three days ago with a silenced pistol in broad daylight 'They resisted, there was an exchange of fire, and they were eliminated. 'I want to remind everyone: there is only one outcome for the enemy on the territory of Ukraine - and that is death!' An SBU statement said the murder of the Ukrainian defender was committed by two people - a man and a woman. They said: 'Their supervisor ordered them to monitor the SBU officer, establish his daily schedule and routes. 'Later, the [Russian] handed over the coordinates of the cache to the killers, where there was a pistol with a silencer.' 'After killing the colonel of the security service, the killers tried to "lie low". 'But employees of the SBU and the National Police established their location in the Kyiv region.' A special operation was conducted this morning, during which members of the agent-combat group of the FSB of the Russian Federation allegedly began to resist, so they were eliminated. Voronezh was a colonel with the 1st Division of the 16th Directorate of the Special Operations Centre, said Ukrainian sources. Ukrainian ex-MP Ihor Mosiychuk said on his Telegram channel: 'As a result of the shooting, the victim sustained multiple penetrating gunshot wounds and died at the scene.' Moscow news outlet Readovka said Voronych was part of an elite Ukrainian force 'which operates not only as a law enforcement entity but also takes part in highly sensitive operations on Russian territory'. Another Russian outlet Voenkor Kotenok TG said the colonel had 'founded a division that causes problems for Russia'.
CNN
4 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Ukraine says it killed Russian agents suspected of assassinating intelligence officer
Ukraine's Security Service said Sunday they had killed Russian special service agents suspected of gunning down a fellow officer in Kyiv earlier this week, saying it believed Russia's Federal Security Service was responsible. SBU officer Ivan Voronych was shot dead in Kyiv on Thursday morning in what authorities told CNN was an apparent assassination. The suspects - a man and a woman - tried to 'lay low' after the shooting, the SBU said in a statement Sunday. However, SBU and National Police officers established their whereabouts in the Kyiv region, the statement added. The head of the SBU, Vasyl Malyuk, said; 'As a result of covert investigative and active counterintelligence measures, the enemy's lair was discovered.' He continued, 'During their arrest, they began to resist, there was an exchange of fire, and the scoundrels were eliminated.' 'I want to remind you that the only prospect for the enemy on the territory of Ukraine is death!' he said in a video, which was apparently filmed in front of the suspect's bodies. According to the SBU, the two had been ordered to trail their target to establish his daily routine. They were then directed to a safe house where a pistol with a silencer was waiting for them. The SBU is Ukraine's main security service, responsible for both internal security and sabotage operations against Russia. Among others, it was responsible for Ukraine's audacious drone attack against Russian airfields last month. Voronych's killing comes at a time when Russia has been escalating its attacks on Ukraine - this week saw both the largest and second largest drone attack of the conflict, now into its fourth year.
