Ukraine finds Monaco bombing suspect shot dead near Kyiv

The body of Anastasiia Berezovska, the 39-year-old Ukrainian woman wanted by Interpol for the June 29 bomb attack on a sanctioned Ukrainian businessman in Monaco, was found shot dead near Kyiv on the night of July 6, Ukraine's Security Service confirmed on Tuesday. An officer serving in Ukraine's military intelligence agency has confessed to killing her, and two men have been detained on suspicion of premeditated murder.

A Swift and Violent End

Ukraine's Security Service, known as the SBU, said investigators found Berezovska's body during a reconstruction of the crime scene based on one suspect's testimony. She had gunshot wounds to the head, and spent pistol casings were recovered at the scene. The SBU said the confessed killer, an officer in military intelligence, carried out the murder with the help of a former law enforcement officer. Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported her body was located around 11 p.m. local time on Monday, July 6.yahoo+2

Berezovska had been named as the chief suspect in an Interpol Red Notice issued days after the Monaco attack, sought on charges of attempted murder, placing an explosive device in a public place with criminal intent, and criminal conspiracy. Monaco's deputy prosecutor had said she fled the principality on foot into France, then traveled by car through several European countries to Germany, where police raided an apartment in Frankfurt but did not find her.globalbankingandfinance+3

The Monaco Attack

The June 29 bombing — described by Monaco's minister of state as the first such attack in the principality's history — targeted Vadym Yermolaiev, a Ukrainian-born multimillionaire who had been sanctioned by Kyiv in December 2023 for continuing business operations in Russian-occupied Crimea. The bomb, a parcel containing bolts and pellets left at the entrance of a residential building, was detonated by remote control as Yermolaiev, his partner, and their 13-year-old son arrived home.bbc+2

Two of the three victims were left in critical condition, with the woman most seriously injured. Prince Albert II condemned the explosion that night as "a heinous crime".cnn+2

Unanswered Questions

The motive behind both the Monaco bombing and Berezovska's killing remains unclear. Ukrainska Pravda had previously linked the attack to Ukrainian scam call center networks, particularly in Dnipro, while French newspaper Le Monde reported it appeared to be "a settling of scores linked to organized crime". Monaco's deputy prosecutor said last week that Berezovska likely had not acted alone.wikipedia+1

Her death before she could face trial leaves investigators in Monaco and France with a key witness permanently silenced.