Anastasiia Berezovska, the Ukrainian woman suspected of orchestrating a parcel bombing in Monaco that left a sanctioned multi-millionaire and his family injured, has been discovered dead in Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s security service (SBU).
The 39-year-old’s body was found buried in a forest within the Kyiv region, bearing gunshot wounds to the head. Following this discovery, two individuals, including a serving officer within Ukraine’s military intelligence service, have been charged with her murder.
Berezovska had been the subject of a cross-border manhunt after officials believed she fled the wealthy city-state following the June 29 attack. The bomb was planted in the entrance hall of an apartment building, injuring three people, two of them seriously, shortly after 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT) as they entered the premises.
Monaco’s deputy prosecutor, Morgan Raymond, stated that Berezovska had spent several days casing out the residence and was disguised as a man during the attack. She was believed to have escaped in a hire car, traveling to Italy and then onwards to Germany. Special forces in Germany had searched an apartment in the central state of Hesse rented by a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman “currently on the run” on a Thursday following the incident. Interpol had issued a red notice for Berezovska, seeking her location and arrest for attempted murder, placing an explosive device on a public road with criminal intent, and criminal conspiracy.
The SBU reported that Berezovska arrived in Ukraine on July 1, two days after the Monaco attack. Citing law enforcement sources, the SBU indicated that two days later, on a highway in the Kyiv region, two suspects met Berezovska in a car. Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office informed the BBC that she “traveled a certain distance with them, after which she was killed.”
After entering Ukraine, Berezovska had communicated with her family and the two men now charged with her murder: a former law enforcement officer and a current officer in Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, an agency of the Ministry of Defence. These two men were also investigated as potential accomplices in the Monaco attack, based on information that they repeatedly transferred funds to Berezovska’s “crypto and bank accounts.” The intelligence officer subsequently confessed to Berezovska’s murder, stating he committed the act with “another suspect.” Both men now face charges of “intentional murder committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons.”
During a search of the former law enforcement officer’s home in the Kyiv region, the SBU discovered a basement room described as “resembling a torture chamber.” However, Ukraine’s prosecutor general clarified that there was “no evidence” the room was connected to Berezovska’s case, stating it “simply reflect[s] the profile of one of the suspects.” A video released by the prosecutor’s office showed the room containing a mat with what appeared to be small blood spots, two axes, a pickaxe, tarpaulin spread on the floor, and a large bag.
While authorities in Monaco have not officially confirmed the victims’ identities, local media identified them as Vadym Yermolaiev, his partner, and their 13-year-old son. Yermolaiev, a real estate developer, was named the 39th richest Ukrainian by Forbes magazine in 2020, with an estimated fortune of $230 million (£173.8 million). He holds significant interests in wine and alcohol in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, and has been subject to sanctions imposed by the government in Kyiv since 2023. Yermolaiev, who renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019, is a Cypriot citizen and resides in Monaco.
Ukrainian authorities, through the SBU, confirmed they have shared all available information with officials in Monaco, with whom the prosecutor general is in “close co-operation.” Law enforcement agencies are continuing their efforts to identify “other suspects” involved in the Monaco attack.
Police released an image of Berezovska on CCTV, pointing to a distinctive tattoo on her arm which they said "possibly" depicted a snake
