Ex-officer alleges Ukrainian intelligence chiefs authorised Monaco bombing of businessman
A former Ukrainian security services officer has told the BBC that he believed senior officials in Ukraine’s military intelligence agency authorised the June bombing in Monaco that targeted businessman Vadym Yermolayev. Vitalii Zhykovych says an intelligence officer proposed the operation, while he denies arranging the bombing or murdering the woman suspected of planting the device.
Yermolayev, his 13-year-old son and his partner were badly injured when the bomb exploded outside their home as they returned from dinner. The suspected bomber, Anastasia Berezovska, was later found shot dead near Kyiv; Zhykovych and intelligence officer Vladyslav Reut each blame the other for her killing. Reut first confessed to investigators, then changed his account in court, and Ukraine’s intelligence agency says it is committed to a full investigation.
- A former officer alleges HUR superiors approved the Monaco bombing.
- The businessman, his son and partner were injured in the blast.
- Two suspects blame each other for the suspected bomber’s killing.
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In June, a bomb exploded outside the Monaco home of Ukrainian businessman Vadym Yermolayev as he returned from dinner with his family. The blast seriously injured Yermolayev, his 13-year-old son and his partner.
The woman suspected of planting the explosive, Anastasia Berezovska, was later found dead near Kyiv. A former Ukrainian security services officer, Vitalii Zhykovych, and an intelligence officer, Vladyslav Reut, have given conflicting accounts about who was responsible for her death.
The bombing is now at the centre of allegations that senior officials in Ukraine's military intelligence service may have authorised an attack on foreign soil. The allegations raise questions about oversight of Ukraine's security agencies and whether state officials may have sanctioned violence against a Ukrainian citizen abroad.
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Originally published by BBC World as “Suspect linked to Monaco bomb attack on millionaire breaks silence to BBC”.