A Ukrainian woman wanted in connection with last week's bombing in Monaco that seriously injured a Ukraine-born businessman has been found dead near Kyiv, while Ukrainian authorities have arrested two men as part of the investigation.
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Ukrainian prosecutors said on Tuesday that 39-year-old Anastasiia Berezovska was discovered with a gunshot wound to the head. The announcement came days after Interpol issued a red notice seeking her arrest on behalf of Monaco.
Woman wanted over attack dies before extradition
The notice identified Berezovska, a Ukrainian national who speaks German, as being wanted on charges including attempted murder, placing an explosive device in a public place with criminal intent and criminal conspiracy. An Interpol red notice is a request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a suspect pending extradition.
Two men arrested in Ukraine
Prosecutors said two men had been detained in connection with the case, including an officer serving with Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) and a former law enforcement officer.
According to investigators, Berezovska received cryptocurrency payments from the pair, prompting authorities to treat them as individuals potentially involved in the attempted murder in Monaco.
Prosecutors said the serving intelligence officer had acted independently and had not informed his superiors about his contacts with Berezovska.
Investigators also released video footage from searches of the suspects' properties, showing what prosecutors described as a blood-stained "torture chamber" containing hammers and other equipment. The claims have not been independently verified.
Monaco attack and possible political fallout
The case could have wider implications for Ukraine, as any confirmed link between members of its intelligence services and a bombing on European soil would be politically sensitive. The developments coincided with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's attendance at a NATO summit, where he was seeking continued Western support as Russia's attacks on Ukrainian cities persist.
Picture courtesy of Canberra Times
Monaco's Prince Albert II previously condemned the bombing as "an odious act" and said all of the principality's security services had been mobilised.
Although authorities have not officially identified the victims, French police and judicial sources said they were Vadym Iermolaiev, a 58-year-old businessman born in Ukraine who now holds Cypriot citizenship, along with his partner and their son. Iermolaiev and his partner suffered serious injuries, while the child was only slightly hurt.
French prosecutors allege that Berezovska, who had been living in Germany, disguised herself as a man before placing an explosive device in the entrance hall of the family's apartment building in Monaco.
Businessman's background
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Iermolaiev had been living in Monaco among a group of wealthy Ukrainian business figures and politicians that independent Ukrainian media dubbed the "Monaco battalion".
Ukraine imposed sanctions on him in 2023, alleging he maintained business ties with Russian entities operating in Ukrainian territories occupied by Moscow, including Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Monaco's deputy prosecutor said the suspected attacker fled on foot into neighbouring France before travelling by car through several European countries, including Italy, and eventually reaching Germany.
While Ukraine has conducted numerous operations involving explosive devices against senior Russian military officers and Kremlin-backed officials inside Russia, there is no established precedent for such attacks on European territory.
The developments also follow allegations by German prosecutors last week that Ukrainian state authorities ordered the 2022 attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia and Europe.
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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 7 July 2026