Woman suspected of Monaco apartment bombing found shot dead near Kyiv
Two men, who had been in contact with the suspect after she returned to Ukraine and who made several transfers to her crypto bank accounts, were arrested on suspicion of murder.
A woman suspected of carrying out a bomb attack in a Monaco apartment building last week that seriously wounded a Ukrainian business magnate has been found dead, and two men have been arrested in connection with her death, authorities said on Tuesday.
The body of Anastasiia Berezovska, 39, a Ukrainian woman who was wanted for the June 29 bombing, was found with gunshot wounds to the head and pistol cartridges, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement on Telegram.
Two men, who had been in contact with Berezovska after she returned to Ukraine on July 1 and who made several transfers to her crypto bank accounts, were arrested on suspicion of murder, the statement added. One of the suspects is a law enforcement officer. The other is a current employee of the GUR (the military intelligence service) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, according to the prosecutor general.
The GUR employee had confessed to killing Berezovska with the other defendant, the statement added.
“He also said that he had not informed his superiors about his contacts with Berezovska, the money transfers, or any of his other actions, and had acted on his own initiative,” it continued.
Both men are suspected of being involved in the bombing plot, according to Ukrainian authorities, who said a basement room resembling a torture chamber was discovered in the law enforcement officer’s home.
Monaco’s deputy public prosecutor, Morgan Raymond, said during a news briefing last Friday that Berezovska was suspected to have been “disguised as a man” during the attack and may not have acted alone.
Raymond said the suspect was initially identified as a heavyset person, appearing to be male, wearing a dark, long-sleeved top, light-coloured shorts and a black bucket hat.
A broader review of CCTV footage from previous days and testimony from a witness redirected the investigation toward a woman disguised as a man.
Three people wounded in the explosion last Monday were identified by media as property developer Vadym Yermolaiev and his partner and son. Monaco authorities said they appeared to have been specifically targeted.
Yermolaiev, who took Cypriot nationality seven years ago, was placed under sanctions by Ukraine in 2023, following Russia’s invasion the previous year.
Raymond said Berezovska waited on a park bench for the three people to return from dinner on Monday before taking a parcel bomb out of her bag and placing it on the steps of the building where the victims were headed.
“The individual turned around to confirm that the three victims were on the steps and then detonated the bomb using a remote control,” he added, before noting that the suspect’s last known residence was in Germany, and she was believed to have fled through France, then Italy, in a rental car.
Monaco’s head of state, Prince Albert II, described the blast as “an odious act” and said all public services were mobilized to ensure security.