VLADIMIR Putin stooges have expressed their delight in the brazen daylight assassination of the Ukrainian spy cheap – and all but confirmed the Russia dictator was behind it.

Colonel Ivan Voronich, head of an SBU intelligence Special Operations Centre was executed by an assassin with a pistol and silencer, sparking a manhunt after his killer vanished in Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

Voronich is understood to have plotted sensitive missions made to thwart Vladimir Putin’s war machine – as well as embarrass the Russian tyrant.

Now pro-Putin media sites are claiming Moscow’s special services assassinated the Ukrainian colonel – and revelling in it.

Mad Vlad is believed to have ordered the revenge hits himself after being humiliated by the stunning success of Operation Spiderweb in June in which destroyed £5.2 billion worth of Russian warplanes.

Ukrainian SBU agents smuggled drones on trucks to within striking distance of air bases and launched incredible simultaneous remotely controlled attacks.

Moscow news outlet Readovka said Voronych was part of an elite Ukrainian clandestine force which had carried out operations inside Russia.

Readovka said the unit “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”.

And a different pro-Putin propaganda channel boasted: “A fat target. Applause to the liquidators”.

Russian commentator Maksim Kalashnikov said: “In Kyiv, Colonel Voronich, one of the organisers of special operations against us, a chief saboteur, was shot dead.

“Our people have started working.”

Former SBU colonel Roman Chervinsky, once head of the 5th Directorate of the SBU Counterintelligence Department, said Voronych’s killing amounted to a “huge loss”.

He was said to have “initiated a direction in the [SBU] service that is now creating many problems for the Russians.”.

“With five shots at close range, while leaving the apartment, today at 8 am, the enemy killer did his dirty work.”

Colonel Voronich was a senior operative of the 1st Division of the 16th Directorate of the Special Operations Centre.

Footage shows the moment he was killed as he carried bags from a residential building.

He was ambushed by the waiting gunman – who was masked – as a woman fled the scene.

The assassin is then seen running away on video.

Colonel Voronich was a senior operative of the 1st Division of the 16th Directorate of the Special Operations Centre.

Ukrainian ex-MP Ihor Mosiychuk said: “As a result of the shooting, the victim sustained multiple penetrating gunshot wounds and died at the scene.”

A major manhunt was underway for the alleged assassin.

Ukrainian police said: “All circumstances of the incident are currently being established. Measures are being taken to identify and detain the shooter.”

Putin wants SBU blood after a string of successes exposed the weaknesses in the security of his military machine.

Notable military successes since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 including the sinking of the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, the Moskva, and the bombing of the Kerch Bridge.

A missile attack on Sevastopol harbour the following year also wreaked havoc but the tyrant finally demanded action after Spiderweb decimated his nuclear bomber fleet.

Ukraine’s SBU

EXCLUSIVE by James Halpin, Foreign News Reporter

DEEP behind enemy lines, Ukraine’s special ops unit marked a turning point in modern warfare after drones blitzed Vladimir Putin’s prized bombers beyond repair.

Ukraine’s Security Service – the SBU – is wiping out the Russian tyrant’s war machine with stunning success.

In early June, the SBU’s Operation Spiderweb destroyed a third of Putin’s nuclear bomber fleet.

It set a new high point for Ukraine’s spies – showing incredible ingenuity, reach, and coordination inside a hostile country.

The SBU, led by Vasyl Malyuk, carried out the attack and has proved itself to be one of the best agencies in the world.

Over the three years of the war, the SBU has repeatedly assassinated commanders, bombed key sites, and attacked Putin’s beloved bridge in Crimea.

Despite Russia being larger, stronger, and holding the cards at the start of the war – it is Ukraine who has carried out a string of daring sabotage attacks.

Experts told The Sun why they think Ukraine and the SBU has been able to pull off these attacks – and what they could strike next.

Former MI6 intelligence officer Matthew Dunn said Spiderweb showed the SBU were the best spies in Europe.

He said: “Being an intelligence officer, there’s no static, fixed rule book about what one does.”

One question the world has been left asking is how Ukraine managed to get the drones inside Russia.

The bestselling spy novelist and podcast host at SafeHouse Productions said there is no clear answer.

He said: “The commanders involved in this at high level, they would have been very open-minded about how to get these drones into the country.”

Dunn said SBU spies could have smuggled drones over the border on foot, via parachute, or even a raft – whatever was the safest and easiest way.

He said: “The intelligence operation and the officers involved would have been as creative as possible.

“The issue is, the more people you involve… the higher the risk of compromise.

“Sometimes with these kind of things, risky and daring as they can be, sometimes simplicity is the answer.”