A senior Ukrainian intelligence officer was gunned down in Kyiv on Thursday, media reports said, prompting authorities to launch an investigation

The agent of the domestic Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) was shot several times in a car park after being approached by an unidentified assailant who then fled the scene, reported BBC.

SBU did not identify the officer.

A spokesperson for the service told CNN that an SBU officer was killed in Kyiv and that investigation into the assassination was underway.

The SBU is primarily concerned with internal security and counter-intelligence.

Russia and Ukraine are engaged in a bitter conflict since 2022.

Moscow had launched an invasion of Ukraine that year.

UN agencies on Thursday warned of devastating recent attacks across Ukraine due to Russian strikes, record civilian casualties recorded last month – and growing deprivation facing children under fire across the country.

Russian forces launched an attack overnight focused on Kyiv, deploying 397 Shahed unmanned attack and decoy drones, along with 18 high-powered missiles, killing two and injuring at least 16, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU).

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric noted during his daily briefing in New York that four Kyiv districts were hit, damaging residential buildings, a clinic and a TV station, while an outpatient clinic was destroyed during the bombardment.

Dujarric also relayed reports from local authorities of recent attacks in other regions which left more than nine dead and at least ten civilians injured.

Grim June record

These attacks come after June saw the highest monthly civilian casualty count in Ukraine since the Russian invastion began in February 2022, with 232 people killed and 1,343 injured.

This data reflects a worsening trend: 6,754 civilians were killed or injured in the first half of 2025 – a sharp 54 per cent rise compared to the same period in 2024, when 4,381 civilian casualties were documented.

This breaks down to a 17 per cent increase in civilian deaths and a 64 per cent increase in injuries.

Russia’s increased use of long-range missiles and drones in urban areas – and their enhanced destructive power – were key drivers behind the spike in casualties.

The growing number of attacks also played a crucial role, as Russia launched ten times more missile and unmanned drone strikes in June 2025 than in June 2024.

“Civilians across Ukraine are facing levels of suffering we have not seen in over three years,” said Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU. “The surge in long-range missile and drone strikes across the country has brought even more death and destruction to civilians far from the frontline.”