A senior Ukrainian security service officer, Col Ivan Voronich, was shot dead with a silenced pistol on a Kyiv street Thursday morning.

He was killed with five close-range shots while leaving his apartment.

Ukrainian officials blamed Russian special services.

Voronich led a counter-terrorism unit and had fought Russia since 2014.

Both sides have carried out assassinations during the war, with Ukrainian attacks killing Russian generals in Moscow in recent months, The Telegraph has reported.

Meanwhile, Russia has intensified missile and drone strikes on Ukraine, prompting President Zelensky to urge faster sanctions and more investment in air defences from allies.

Written by B.C. Begley