On June 29, an explosive device detonated at the entrance of a residence in Monaco, injuring Ukrainian tycoon Vadym Yermolaiev, his partner, and their 13-year-old son. The attack was carried out by Anastasiia Berezovska, a Ukrainian national, who had monitored the victims for an extended period before planting a backpack containing explosives and detonating it remotely with a cellphone. Authorities in Monaco launched an attempted murder investigation, with Deputy Prosecutor Morgan Raymond noting Berezovska had spent days casing the residence and was "disguised as a man" during the attack. Yermolaiev, a real estate developer and wine/alcohol magnate in Crimea, was listed as the 39th richest Ukrainian by Forbes in 2020 with a reported fortune of $230 million. He had been sanctioned by Kyiv in 2023 for continuing business in Russian-annexed Crimea and had reportedly renounced his Ukrainian citizenship years prior.
A cross-border manhunt for Berezovska, whose last known residence was in Germany, was initiated after she fled the French Riviera. On July 6, her body was discovered in a forest near Kyiv with gunshot wounds to the head. Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) subsequently announced that a Ukrainian military intelligence officer, Vladyslav Reut, confessed to killing Berezovska with the help of a former law enforcement officer, Vitalii Zhykovych. Both men were detained and charged with intentional murder committed by prior conspiracy.
The case grew more complex when Reut, a decorated officer from Ukraine's military intelligence agency (GUR), changed his story during a custody hearing. Initially, he led investigators to Berezovska's grave, but later denied pulling the trigger, instead blaming Zhykovych. Reut claimed they were tasked with hiding Berezovska for a "criminal matter" and that Zhykovych produced a modified Makarov pistol, eventually shooting Berezovska four times before they buried her body. The prosecutor maintains that both men acted "jointly and in a coordinated fashion."
Monaco prosecutors believe Berezovska monitored the victims, placed the explosive device, and detonated it remotely before fleeing. Information suggests the two men charged with her murder may have been involved in planning the Monaco bombing, as they allegedly transferred funds to Berezovska's crypto and bank accounts. Interpol had issued an alert for Berezovska, and German police searched an apartment rented by a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman believed to be Berezovska. The incident shocked Monaco, with Prince Albert II condemning it as "an odious act."
