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Suspect in Monaco bomb attack claims operation was linked to Ukrainian military intelligence
Overview
Vitalii Zhykovych, a former Ukrainian security services officer imprisoned in Kyiv, has broken his silence to the BBC regarding a June bomb attack in Monaco that targeted millionaire Vadym Yermolayev, his son, and his partner. Zhykovych claims the operation was proposed by an active-duty HUR intelligence officer, Vladyslav Reut, and was framed as an authorized mission in retaliation for alleged business ties to Russian-occupied Crimea. Yermolayev has denied these business connections. Both Zhykovych and Reut were arrested following the murder of Anastasia Berezovska, the woman caught on camera planting the bomb, who was found shot dead in the woods near Kyiv shortly after fleeing Monaco.
Key points
- Vitalii Zhykovych gave an exclusive interview from a Kyiv prison, alleging that active-duty HUR intelligence officer Vladyslav Reut ordered the Monaco bomb attack.
- The blast in Monaco severely injured multi-millionaire Vadym Yermolayev, his 13-year-old son, and his partner.
- Zhykovych claims the attack was presented as an official operation retaliating against Yermolayev for allegedly paying taxes in Russian-occupied Crimea, a claim Yermolayev denies.
- Anastasia Berezovska, identified as the person who planted the bomb, was later found shot dead in the woods west of Kyiv.
- Both Zhykovych and Reut have been arrested and accused of murdering Berezovska, with each blaming the other for her death.