On June 29 around 21:00, near a residential building on Reverend Pere Louis Frolley Street in Monaco, an explosion occurred. Three people were injured: sanctioned businessman Vadim Yermolaev, a woman in critical condition, and his 13-year-old son. The head of the principality's government, Christoph Merrman, characterized the incident as the first of its kind in Monaco's history.
What investigative sources say — and what is said officially
According to Ukrayinska Pravda citing sources close to the investigation, the investigators consider two people to be the organizers of the terrorist attack: current employee of the Main Intelligence Directorate Vladislav Reut and former Security Service of Ukraine officer Vitaliy Zhykovich.
However, the Office of the General Prosecutor explained in a comment to LIGA.net: currently, both have been notified of suspicion exclusively in the murder of Berezovska. They have not been presented with suspicions in the Monaco terrorist attack case. This is not a detail — it is a legal distinction between the investigation's version and official charges.
The scheme reconstructed by investigators
According to the version of Ukrainian law enforcement, the executor of the explosive device placement was Anastasia Berezovska, a 39-year-old woman whom Interpol was searching for in connection with the attempt on Yermolaev's life. Surveillance cameras recorded her near the explosion site, after which she crossed the border on foot in the French city of Bosselen and likely headed to Italy.
According to prosecutor Dmytro Tkachuk's statement at the Pechersk Court hearing, investigators traced Reut and Zhykovich through a financial trail: both transferred funds to Berezovska — to bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets. In Zhykovich's case, it involved the Trustglobal payment system, which has been banned in Ukraine since September 2025.
"As a detective with considerable experience, I'm not even certain that this murdered woman was the only executor at all"
— retired SBU Major General, comment to Focus.ua
According to Monaco's prosecutor's office, the device was homemade and contained bolts and metal shrapnel to increase the damaging effect. According to UP sources, the detonator could have been disguised as a children's toy car. The perpetrator waited nearly an hour for Yermolaev's car to pull into the parking lot and detonated the device remotely.
Murder of a witness: what happened next
Berezovska returned to Ukraine on July 1, 2026 — via the Polish border by bus. On July 3, she was shot near the village of Yuriv in Kyiv region. According to the investigation, there were four shots: the first to the back of her head. The body was buried in the forest, the weapon thrown into a lake. Reut and Zhykovich blame each other.
In court on July 9, Reut stated that Berezovska was a witness in another criminal case against Zhykovich and "was going to testify against him." Zhykovich's lawyer denied this. Judge Roman Novak granted the prosecutor's motion: both were placed under arrest without bail.
Special services and unanswered questions
The involvement of a current GUR officer and a person with experience in the SBU naturally raised questions about institutional context. According to a UP columnist citing sources in the special services, Zhykovich may have remained a current SBU employee at the time of the events — contrary to the official position that he was dismissed. President Zelensky said he would comment on the case "later."
Monaco's Attorney General Stephane Thibeault rejected the terrorist classification early in the investigation: "Based on the information I have, this is not an attack that can be classified as terrorist." The principality's authorities reframed the case as an attempted murder and illegal placement of an explosive device in a public place.
One of The Guardian's sources, familiar with Yermolaev, suggested that the explosion and subsequent murder of Berezovska — not political, but criminal in nature. Yermolaev's business background includes Crimean wineries, sanctioned status, and, according to investigations, connections to the fraudulent call center market.
If Reut and Zhykovich are indeed charged with organizing a terrorist attack — rather than just the murder of Berezovska — the investigation must explain: who gave them the assignment, whether they acted independently, and why the financial chain led from special service officers to the executor who was subsequently eliminated.
