A former Ukrainian security services officer linked to a June bomb attack in Monaco has claimed he believed the operation was authorised by senior members of HUR, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency. Speaking to the BBC from a prison in Kyiv, Vitalii Zhykovych provided his first account of the attempted assassination of Ukrainian-born multi-millionaire businessman Vadym Yermolayev.
The explosion in Monaco left Yermolayev and his 13-year-old son badly hurt, while his partner sustained catastrophic injuries. Zhykovych, who describes himself as a „freelancer” for Ukraine’s SBU security service, identified Anastasia Berezovska—the woman filmed placing the explosive device—as his agent. A week after the bombing, Berezovska’s body was discovered in a wooded area west of Kyiv with fatal gunshot wounds to the head.
Allegations of Intelligence Involvement
Zhykovych and active-duty HUR officer Vladyslav Reut have both been arrested and accused of Berezovska’s murder. While Reut initially confessed to investigators and led them to her grave, he later changed his testimony to blame Zhykovych. In turn, Zhykovych denies killing Berezovska or sending her to carry out an assassination.
According to Zhykovych, Reut proposed the Monaco operation against Yermolayev, representing it as an officially approved mission from HUR superiors. Zhykovych claims he refused to let Berezovska participate in the bombing itself because she lacked training, suggesting she go only for reconnaissance. He alleges that Reut then bypassed him to communicate with Berezovska directly and supplied her with the explosives.
HUR has stated it is committed to a full investigation and is supporting law enforcement. Meanwhile, the SBU has identified Zhykovych only as a „former law enforcement officer.”
Conflicting Motives and a Fatal Aftermath
The motives behind the Monaco attack remain highly disputed. Zhykovych claims Reut told him the bombing was retaliation for Yermolayev allegedly funding Russia’s annexation of Crimea through business taxes, an accusation Yermolayev has repeatedly denied. However, during a recent custody hearing in Kyiv, Zhykovych altered his narrative, stating Reut had actually told him the attack was unauthorised and ordered by a civilian source.
Yermolayev, who holds Cypriot citizenship, has publicly rejected various theories about the attack, including potential links to lucrative scam call-centre networks in Ukraine. His son, Artur, was convicted earlier this year in Estonia for fraud related to such operations, but Yermolayev maintains he has no connection to those activities.
Berezovska, who had been living in Germany as a refugee since 2022, was reportedly lured to Ukraine and killed after the attack. While Zhykovych claims she was acting as an agent against Russia, her husband has dismissed the claim as nonsense, asserting she was unwittingly dragged into the scheme. Both Zhykovych and Reut continue to blame each other for her death.
Source: BBC News
