Ukrainian Intelligence Officer Linked to Monaco Bombing and Murder of Female Suspect
On June 29, a bomb concealed in a backpack exploded at the entrance of a luxury residential building in Monaco, severely injuring Vadim Yermolaev, a Jewish-Ukrainian oligarch and real estate entrepreneur with Cypriot citizenship, along with his wife and lightly wounding their 13-year-old son. Yermolaev, part of a wealthy group known in Ukraine as the "Monaco Battalions," was sanctioned by Kyiv in 2023 due to his business ties with Russian entities in the occupied Crimean Peninsula.
French police identified Anastasia Berzovska, a 39-year-old Ukrainian citizen residing in Germany, disguised as a man, as the individual who planted the bomb. Interpol issued a red notice for her arrest. After fleeing Monaco to France and then Italy, Berzovska legally crossed back into Ukraine on July 1, before the international warrant was issued. Shortly after her return, her body was found in a forest about 60 kilometers west of Kyiv, shot in the head.
The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) arrested two suspects in her murder: Vladislav Raut, a 33-year-old active officer in Ukraine's military intelligence agency (GUR), and Vitaly Zhykovych, a former police officer near Kyiv. During court proceedings, Raut admitted witnessing the killing but claimed Zhykovych shot Berzovska from behind. Investigators revealed the suspects had transferred funds to Berzovska via bank accounts and cryptocurrency, suggesting their direct involvement in planning and financing the Monaco assassination attempt. A torture-like cellar was found in Zhykovych's home, though it was clarified Berzovska was not tortured before her death.
This case emerges at a sensitive time for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as evidence of official Ukrainian intelligence involvement in a European bombing and internal assassination could damage Western support. The General Prosecutor and SBU stressed that the military intelligence officer acted independently without his superiors' knowledge. French President Emmanuel Macron has pressured Zelensky to thoroughly investigate and hold those responsible accountable. Some sources close to Yermolaev told The Guardian the motive might be criminal-business related, such as extortion or protection money, with Berzovska acting as a "contractor" who was eliminated after the operation went awry. Ukrainian analysts note the swift arrests and exposure of GUR involvement may indicate deep internal conflicts within Ukraine's intelligence community.
