She traveled some distance with them before being killed.
In the space of a week, a parcel bomb in one of the world's wealthiest enclaves and a body in a Ukrainian forest have drawn a line connecting the shadowy edges of war, oligarchy, and intelligence work. Anastasiia Berezovska, suspected of planting the device that injured sanctioned Ukrainian millionaire Vadym Yermolaiev and his family in Monaco on June 29, returned to her homeland only to be killed by two men who had been quietly funding her — one of them an active military intelligence officer. The case raises the oldest questions of covert violence: who truly commissioned the act, and who benefits most from silencing the one who carried it out.
- A parcel bomb tore through a Monaco apartment entrance on June 29, wounding a sanctioned Ukrainian oligarch, his partner, and his 13-year-old son — a calculated strike disguised with careful surveillance and a gender disguise.
- A cross-border manhunt swept from Monaco through Italy and into Germany, but the suspect had already slipped back into Ukraine before European special forces could close in.
- Two days after returning home, Berezovska was driven along a Kyiv-region highway by two men who had been transferring money to her accounts — and was found buried in a forest with gunshot wounds to the head.
- One of her alleged killers is an active Ukrainian military intelligence officer who has since confessed; the other, a former law enforcement officer, had a basement at his home that prosecutors described as resembling a torture chamber.
- Interpol red notices, international cooperation, and a widening Ukrainian investigation are now chasing the larger conspiracy — but the person most likely to name those who hired her is gone.
On the evening of June 29, a parcel bomb detonated in the entrance hall of a Monaco apartment building, injuring three people returning home. Among the wounded was Vadym Yermolaiev — ranked among Ukraine's wealthiest men, sanctioned by his own government since 2023 over business ties to Russian-annexed Crimea, and long settled in Monaco as a Cypriot citizen. His partner and his 13-year-old son were also hurt. Investigators quickly determined the attack had been deliberate and surveilled in advance; the suspect had disguised themselves as a man during the operation.
Within days, authorities identified Anastasiia Berezovska, a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman, as the suspected bomber. A European manhunt tracked her rental car toward Italy and then Germany, where special forces later searched an apartment. But she had already slipped away — back to Ukraine on July 1, just two days after the blast. Two days after that, she was dead, found buried in a forest in the Kyiv region with gunshot wounds to the head.
The men charged with her murder had not been strangers to her. Both had repeatedly transferred money to her cryptocurrency and bank accounts, suggesting a financial relationship that predated or accompanied the bombing. One was a former law enforcement officer; the other was an active officer in Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence. The intelligence officer later confessed, saying he had acted together with his co-suspect. A search of the former officer's home turned up a basement space containing bloodstained mats, axes, tarpaulin, and a large bag — though prosecutors clarified it showed no direct link to Berezovska's death and was released only to illustrate the suspect's character.
Ukrainian and Monaco authorities are now cooperating closely, and the investigation has widened to search for additional accomplices. Interpol had issued a red notice for Berezovska before her body was found. But the central questions remain open: who commissioned the Monaco bombing, why were her financiers also her killers, and what does the presence of an intelligence officer at the heart of the conspiracy reveal about the full shape of what occurred.
On the evening of June 29, a parcel exploded in the entrance hall of an apartment building in Monaco, injuring three people as they arrived home. Within days, investigators had identified the suspected bomber: a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman named Anastasiia Berezovska. Police launched a cross-border manhunt. She had fled Monaco in a rental car, heading toward Italy and then Germany, where special forces would later search an apartment. But Berezovska never made it far. She returned to Ukraine on July 1, just two days after the attack. Two days after that, she was dead—found buried in a forest in the Kyiv region with gunshot wounds to the head.
The three people injured in Monaco included Vadym Yermolaiev, a real estate developer and one of Ukraine's wealthiest men. Forbes had ranked him the 39th richest Ukrainian in 2020, with a reported fortune of $230 million. His partner and his 13-year-old son were also hurt in the blast. Yermolaiev had renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019 and become a Cypriot citizen, settling in Monaco. He had been sanctioned by the Ukrainian government since 2023 over his business interests in Crimea, the territory Russia annexed in 2014. The targeting appeared deliberate—someone had spent days watching the residence, and according to Monaco's deputy prosecutor, the attacker had disguised themselves as a man during the operation.
What happened next in Ukraine raises questions that remain only partially answered. Two men met Berezovska in a car on a highway in the Kyiv region two days after she arrived back in the country. She traveled some distance with them before being killed. Both men have since been charged with intentional murder committed by prior conspiracy. One was a former law enforcement officer; the other was an active officer in Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence, a military agency. Investigators discovered that both men had repeatedly transferred funds to Berezovska's cryptocurrency and bank accounts—suggesting they had been supporting her financially, possibly before and certainly after the bombing.
The intelligence officer eventually confessed to the murder, telling authorities he had acted with the other suspect. During a search of the former law enforcement officer's home in the Kyiv region, authorities found a basement room that resembled what they described as a torture chamber. The space contained a mat with what appeared to be blood spots, two axes, a pickaxe, tarpaulin, and a large bag. Ukrainian prosecutors later clarified, however, that they had found no evidence this room was involved in Berezovska's death. They released video of it, they said, only to illustrate the profile of one of the suspects.
The investigation has widened. Ukrainian authorities are now searching for other accomplices in the Monaco attack. Interpol issued a red notice on Berezovska before her body was found, alerting police worldwide that she was wanted for attempted murder, placing an explosive device with criminal intent, and criminal conspiracy. Ukraine's security service and prosecutor general have been working in close cooperation with Monaco's authorities, sharing all available information. But significant questions remain unanswered: Who hired Berezovska to carry out the bombing? Why were the two men who killed her financially supporting her? And what role, if any, did they play in the attack itself? The investigation is still moving, still searching for the full shape of the conspiracy that led to a parcel bomb in a wealthy city-state and a murder in a Ukrainian forest.
Citas Notables
The victim traveled a certain distance with them, after which she was killed.— Ukraine's prosecutor general
She had spent days casing out the residence and was disguised as a man during the attack.— Monaco's deputy prosecutor Morgan Raymond
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why would someone return to Ukraine after fleeing a bombing investigation across Europe? That seems like the last place to go.
Unless returning was part of the plan, or unless she had no choice. The two men who killed her had been sending her money—they had a connection to her. Maybe she thought she was safe with them, or maybe she was being drawn back.
And these two men—a former cop and an active intelligence officer—why would they kill the person they'd been funding?
That's the question that haunts this. If they were supporting her, they were likely involved in planning the attack. Killing her afterward could mean silencing her, or it could mean something darker—a falling out, a betrayal, a loose end being tied up.
The basement room they found—the one that looked like a torture chamber—does that suggest she was held there?
Authorities walked that back. They said there's no evidence it was used in her case. But they released the video anyway, to show the profile of one of the suspects. That's a careful distinction, and it leaves you wondering what they know but aren't saying.
What about the target—this oligarch Yermolaiev? He was sanctioned by his own government.
He had money in Crimea, in the wine and alcohol business, after Russia took the territory. That made him a problem for Kyiv. But whether that's why he was bombed, or whether it's something else entirely—that's still unclear.
So the investigation is incomplete.
Very much so. They've charged two men with murder, but the larger conspiracy—who ordered the bombing, what the full network looked like—that's still being pieced together.