Ukrainian Court Detains Two Suspects in Killing of Monaco Bombing Suspect
A Ukrainian court has ordered the detention of two men accused of murdering Anastasiia Berezovska, a woman wanted by Interpol for a bomb attack in Monaco. The motives for both the bombing and the killing remain unclear.
A court in Kyiv on Thursday ordered two men to be held without bail for the killing of Anastasiia Berezovska, a woman who had been named by Interpol as a suspect in a bombing in Monaco. The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office stated that one of the detainees is a decorated officer from Ukraine's military intelligence agency (GUR), while the other is a former law enforcement officer.
Ukrainian authorities discovered the body of the 39-year-old Berezovska on Tuesday with gunshot wounds to the head. Cartridges were also found nearby. Interpol had issued a notice for her in connection with a powerful explosion on June 29 that targeted Ukrainian-born businessman Vadym Yermolaiev. The blast, which occurred in a residential building in Monaco near the French border, left Yermolaiev, his son, and his partner seriously injured.
In court, the prosecutor revealed that Berezovska traveled by bus from Poland to Ukraine two days after the Monaco attack. Investigators tracked cryptocurrency transfers to identify the two suspected killers.
Earlier this week, suspect Vladyslav Reut, a GUR officer, confessed to shooting Berezovska and led investigators to her grave. However, on Thursday, he retracted his confession, claiming in court that co-defendant Vitalli Zhykovych fired the fatal shots. Reut stated that he had confessed out of fear.
Prosecutors said motives are still under investigation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised on Thursday to release "additional relevant reports" on the case soon. Yermolaiev, a property mogul, has been under Ukrainian sanctions since 2023 for continuing business in Russian-occupied Crimea and has renounced his Ukrainian citizenship for Cypriot nationality.
