Suspect in Monaco bomb attack on Ukrainian oligarch found shot dead near Kyiv, two arrested including intelligence officer

The bombing in Monaco on June 29 targeted Ukrainian-born oligarch Vadym Yermolaiev, his partner Anna Nasobina, and her 13-year-old son as they returned to their upscale residence on Rue Révérend-Père-Louis-Frolla. The attacker placed an explosive device in the lobby and detonated it remotely. The blast critically injured all three: Nasobina underwent double leg amputation, while Yermolaiev, 58, later stabilized from a coma. CCTV footage showed a figure in a black jacket and bucket hat fleeing toward the French border; authorities later determined the suspect was a woman disguised as a man. A shopkeeper near Monaco, Enzo, told TV Monaco that Berezovska visited his store four hours before the explosion, trying to buy a phone power bank but lacking funds. She returned later to pay.

“She seemed totally normal.”

“Effective international criminal cooperation, both police and judicial, made it possible to identify, in a particularly short time, the person suspected of having carried out the attack.”

Monaco authorities quickly issued an Interpol Red Notice for Berezovska, a 39-year-old Ukrainian with last known residence in Germany. The notice listed charges of attempted murder and use of explosives.

The suspect's flight and death

Berezovska left Monaco on foot to France, then drove through Italy to Germany, according to prosecutors. On July 1, she returned to Ukraine. Her body was discovered near Kyiv around 11 p.m. on July 6, with gunshot wounds to the head and pistol cartridges nearby. Ukraine's Prosecutor General's office confirmed the death and launched a murder investigation.

The arrests

Two men were detained: a current employee of Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) and a former law enforcement officer. The HUR officer confessed to killing Berezovska together with the other suspect, stating he acted on his own initiative and did not inform his superiors about his contacts with her, money transfers, or other actions. Prosecutors said the men made repeated transfers to Berezovska's bank and cryptocurrency accounts. Both are also suspected of involvement in the Monaco bombing.

“He claimed he did not inform his superiors about his contacts with Berezovska, the money transfers, or any of his other actions, and that he acted on his own initiative.”

Searches at the ex-officer's home revealed a basement room described as a torture chamber, with a video released by the prosecutor's office showing a hatchet, pickaxe, green plastic tarp, and red stains on the floor.

Motive

The motive for the attack remains unclear. Yermolaiev, who acquired Cypriot citizenship in 2019, was sanctioned by Ukraine in 2023 for allegedly doing business in Russian-occupied Crimea. Ukrainian media reported the sanctions were tied to his activities there, though Yermolaiev denies operating in the annexed peninsula.