Ukraine’s SBU Officer Confesses Killing Anastasiia Berezovska After Monaco Bombing

Ukrainian authorities said the woman suspected in last week’s Monaco bombing was found dead in Ukraine with gunshot wounds to the head, and Ukraine’s Security Service said an officer from Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (SBU) confessed to killing Anastasiia Berezovska with the help of a former law enforcement officer.

“Woman suspected of Monaco bombing is found dead in Ukraine, authorities say Woman suspected of Monaco bombing is found dead in Ukraine, authorities say KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The woman suspected of trying to kill a Ukrainian business tycoon in a bombing attack in Monaco last week was found dead in Ukraine with gunshot wounds to the head, Ukraine’s Security Service said on Tuesday”

AP News

AP reported that the SBU said the military intelligence officer acted on his own and without the knowledge of his superiors, while Monaco prosecutor Stéphane Thibault said late Tuesday that the two men “may have been involved in planning” the bombing.

AP News

Interpol had issued a red notice for 39-year-old Berezovska, a Ukrainian national who speaks German, seeking her arrest on charges of attempted murder, placing an explosive device in a public place with criminal intent, and criminal conspiracy.

The bombing attack in Monaco reportedly injured Vadym Yermolaiev, a Ukrainian-born business tycoon with links to Russia, and a woman and a child who were with him, according to AP, while the BBC said the package exploded just after 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT) as they entered the building shortly after 21:00 local time.

The BBC added that Berezovska’s body was found buried in a forest in the Kyiv region with gunshot wounds to the head, and that two people, including a current officer within Ukraine’s military intelligence service, were charged over her murder.

Ukraine’s Security Service said investigators focused on the two men after discovering they had repeatedly transferred cryptocurrency and money through bank accounts to Berezovska, and the SBU said investigators found Berezovska’s body during a reconstruction of the crime based on one suspect’s testimony.

NBC News reported that during searches authorities found what the SBU described as a basement resembling a torture chamber at the former law enforcement officer’s home, and it said investigators recovered spent pistol casings at the scene.

BBC

The BBC said a basement room “resembling a torture chamber” was found during a search of the former law enforcement officer’s home in the Kyiv region, and it reported that Ukraine’s prosecutor general said it had “no evidence” the room had been involved in Berezovska’s case.

In the same BBC account, Monaco’s deputy prosecutor Morgan Raymond said Berezovska had spent days casing out the residence and was “disguised as a man” during the attack last Monday.

CNN reported that Ukrainian authorities said the two detained individuals were indicted “in the intentional murder” of Berezovska, and it said the intelligence officer confessed to the murder and claimed the second suspect was an accomplice.

The case has raised concerns in Kyiv about how Ukraine’s Western allies are reacting to a possible assassination attempt in Monaco now linked to at least one member of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, with AP quoting lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko saying, “I hope it will not have a serious impact. But our allies deserve an explanation.”

“A Ukrainian woman suspected of planting a bomb that targeted a wealthy Ukrainian-born businessman in the tiny principality of Monaco has been found shot dead in Kyiv, Ukraine's prosecutor general's office said Tuesday”

CBS News

AP also reported that Interpol said it had no immediate comment on the arrests of the Ukrainian military intelligence officer and former law enforcement officer, while the BBC said the SBU and Ukraine’s prosecutor general said they had shared all available information with officials in Monaco.

The Guardian said European fashion retailers faced scrutiny after the Monaco bombing case, but it also described the political stakes for Kyiv, writing that any evidence linking members of Ukraine’s intelligence services to a bombing on European soil would be “deeply damaging.”

In the Guardian’s account, Prince Albert II of Monaco previously condemned the bombing as “an odious act” and said all the principality’s security services had been mobilised.

Across the reporting, Ukrainian authorities said they were continuing to identify those who ordered and organized the attempted killing in Monaco, while the SBU said it had shared available information with Monaco’s investigators and was continuing to identify those who ordered and organized the attempted killing in Monaco.