Top Ukrainian spy chief shot dead by 'enemy saboteur' wielding silenced pistol

A top Ukrainianspy chief has been shot dead by silenced pistol-wielding assassin.

Colonel Ivan Voronych - a top official in Ukraine's SBU security service - was strolling through an urban neighbourhood Kyiv when a masked man approached him at around 9am local time (7am GMT).

Theveiled assassinwas seen clad in black t-shirt and shorts as he emerged from behind a car. At point blank range, he executed Voronych with five shots, using a silenced weapon as he was walking across the road.

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In CCTV footage of the murder, the gunmanis seen still cradling his pistol as he sprints away from the scene.

The colonel was left bleeding in the street behind a car as the gunman made his getaway.

Voronych is said to have worked in the SBU's special operations centre and was instrumental in carrying out disruptive sabotage attacks on Russian soil. Reports say he could not survive the fatal gunshot wounds and died at the scene.

In a statement shared with Ukrainian outlet, Ukrainskaya Pravda, the SBU said: "A criminal case has been opened into the murder of an SBU employee in the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv.

"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."

His identity was confirmed by local media outlets and former colleague, SBU officer Roman Chervinsky.

Taking to social media, Chervinsky wrote: "Today was a loss for me personally and for many patriotic SBU employees. A worthy officer (colonel) Voronych Ivan Ivanovich was killed by an enemy saboteur."

He hailed Voronych as being instrumental in launching operations in the security service that have been "creating many problems for Russians".

The identity of the gunman, and his exact motives, are still being investigated.