Suspect claims bombing was authorised

Vitalii Zhykovych, a former Ukrainian security officer linked to a June bomb attack in Monaco, says he believed it was authorised by senior members of HUR, Ukraine's military intelligence agency.

Millionaire and son badly hurt in blast

Ukrainian-born businessman Vadym Yermolayev and his thirteen-year-old son were badly hurt in the explosion. His partner suffered catastrophic injuries. Yermolayev later described their survival as nothing short of a miracle.

“nothing short of a miracle”

Woman caught planting bomb found dead

Anastasia Berezovska was caught on camera planting the bomb in Monaco. A week after the bombing, her body was discovered in the woods west of Kyiv with gunshot wounds to the head.

Zhykovych denies sending her to kill

Zhykovych describes Berezovska as his agent and insists he did not send her to kill. He was arrested and accused of her murder together with Vladyslav Reut, an active-duty HUR intelligence officer.

Reut confessed then changed his story

Reut initially confessed to investigators and led them to the shallow grave where Berezovska was buried. But days later in court, he changed his testimony to blame Zhykovych for the murder.

Zhykovych says Reut proposed the operation

Zhykovych alleges that Reut proposed the Monaco operation against Yermolayev and that it had been authorised and approved by Reut's superiors in HUR, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence.

Zhykovych claims Reut provided explosives

Zhykovych says Reut asked to use Berezovska for the bombing but he refused because she was not fully trained. Reut then communicated directly with Berezovska and allegedly provided her with the explosives.

Zhykovych changes his account in court

At a custody hearing in Kyiv, Zhykovych said Reut told him the attack was not authorised. He claimed someone had ordered the target from the civilian side, without explaining further.

“Someone had ordered this target from the civilian side”

Zhykovych alleges retaliation motive

Zhykovych alleges that Reut said the bombing was in retaliation for funding the annexation of Crimea, meaning Yermolayev was paying taxes to Russia from businesses in Russian-occupied Crimea.

Berezovska's family questions her role

Berezovska's husband told the BBC that Zhykovych's claim she was working as an agent was nonsense. He believes she was dragged unwittingly into the affair. Zhykovych says she was paid fifty thousand dollars.

Investigation continues into bombing and murder

As investigations continue into both the Monaco bombing and Berezovska's murder in Ukraine, questions remain about who authorised the attack, whether it was a state operation or rogue action, and Berezovska's true role.