KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The woman suspected of trying to kill a Ukrainian business tycoon in a bombing attack in Monaco last week was found dead in Ukraine with gunshot wounds to the head, Ukraine’s Security Service said on Tuesday.
A Ukrainian military intelligence officer confessed to killing the bombing suspect, Anastasiia Berezovska, with the help of a former law enforcement officer, said the security service, known as the SBU. The military intelligence officer said he acted on his own and without the knowledge of his superiors, the SBU said.
Both men were detained on suspicion of murdering Berezovska, a Ukrainian national whose last known residence was in Germany, according to authorities. They also “may have been involved in planning” last week's bombing, Monaco prosecutor Stéphane Thibault said late Tuesday.
The bombing attack at an apartment building entrance in Monaco reportedly injured Vadym Yermolaiev, a tycoon with links to Russia. A woman and a child who were with him were also injured, and the Monaco prosecutor said last week that one of the victims was in a life-threatening condition.
The attack shocked Monaco, a coastal playground for the rich and famous known for its tax-friendly incentives, royal family and Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Authorities have not disclosed possible motives for the bombing attack, or the killing of Berezovska. Based on the sophistication of the remote-controlled explosive device that was used, investigators in Monaco said last week that they believed multiple people were involved in the attack.
In Kyiv, the mysterious events have raised concerns among some lawmakers about how Ukraine’s Western allies are reacting to a possible assassination attempt in Monaco that is now linked to at least one member of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency.
“I hope it will not have a serious impact. But our allies deserve an explanation,” said Oleksandr Merezhko, a lawmaker from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s party.
Ukraine is believed to have carried out attacks and targeted killings of Russian figures in the course of the war, although those attacks have largely been confined to Ukrainian or Russian territory.
One possibility is that the bombing in Monaco and Berezovska’s killing are connected to the Yermolaiev family’s business dealings, said political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko, who believes it’s too soon to implicate the Ukrainian state.
Fesenko noted that at the end of April, Yermolaiev’s son, Artur, had settled charges brought against him in Estonia related to an alleged phone scam that took in more than 100 million euros ($114 million) from citizens in multiple European countries between 2019 and 2022, according to local media reports. As part of the deal, the younger Yermolaiev paid an 8.5 million euro fine.
Monaco's head of state, Prince Albert II, described last week's bombing as “an odious act.” The 39-year-old Berezovska was identified as the main suspect by Interpol, which issued a so-called Red Notice seeking her arrest on charges of attempted murder and criminal conspiracy. The notice said Berezovska has a tattoo, possibly of a snake, on her right arm from the shoulder to the elbow.
Yermolaiev built his fortune through the Alef Group, a diversified business that includes commercial real estate, manufacturing and agriculture. Sanctioned by Ukraine in 2023 for his Russia ties, Yermolaiev has said he renounced his Ukrainian citizenship nearly a decade ago.
Interpol on Tuesday said it had no immediate comment on the arrests of the Ukrainian military intelligence officer and former law enforcement officer.
The SBU said investigators had focused on the two men after discovering they had repeatedly transferred cryptocurrency and money through bank accounts to Berezovska.
Investigators said they found Berezovska’s body during a reconstruction of the crime based on one suspect’s testimony. Investigators recovered spent pistol casings at the scene, the SBU said.
Authorities said the basement of the former law enforcement officer’s home appeared to be used as a torture chamber. It was not immediately clear if this is where Berezovska’s body was found.
The SBU said it had shared all available information with authorities in Monaco and was continuing to investigate those who ordered and organized the bombing attack there.
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AP Writer Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed.
