Ukrainian security officer claims regime authorised Monaco bombing

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 9 Oct, 12:19 · Archive

A former Ukrainian security officer charged with murder claims Kyiv's military intelligence authorised a bomb plot against an oligarch in Monaco.

Vitalii Zhykovych, a former Ukrainian security officer held in a Kyiv prison over a July killing, has claimed that Kyiv's military intelligence authorised a bomb plot against oligarch Vadym Yermolaiev in Monaco. He says his superior, active-duty intelligence officer Vladyslav Reut, proposed the operation and told him it had been approved by senior figures in the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence (HUR). Zhykovych also claimed that intelligence officers close to the agency's current and former leadership were linked to the plot, without providing further evidence.

On 29 June, a parcel bomb was detonated outside Yermolaiev's apartment in Monaco, injuring the 58-year-old oligarch, his 13-year-old son and a woman. The woman identified as planting the explosive was Anastasiia Berezovska, a 39-year-old Ukrainian who allegedly disguised herself as a man. She fled to France but was found dead in woods west of Kyiv a week later with gunshot wounds to the head. Reut was arrested and accused of her murder, and identified Zhykovych as his accomplice.

Zhykovych's latest claims contradict what he told a court weeks after the assassination attempt, when he appeared to say that the order had come from 'the civilian side' rather than government officials. HUR told the BBC it is committed to a full investigation but refused to address his claims directly.

How it is being reported

• Suspect in Kyiv jail reveals who proposed bombing of oligarch in MonacoFormer Ukrainian security service officer was accused of killing woman who allegedly planted bombIndependent World · 9 Oct, 12:03
• Ex-Ukrainian security officer charged with executing Monaco bomber claims Kyiv authorized plot to assassinate oligarchA former Ukrainian security officer charged with murdering the would-be assassin who tried to blow up an oligarch in Monaco has claimed he was told the plot had been green-lighted by the Kyiv regime.New York Post · 9 Oct, 11:02

In this story: Vitalii Zhykovych · Vladyslav Reut · Vadym Yermolaiev · Anastasiia Berezovska · Ukraine · Monaco · HUR

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