Former Ukrainian security official claims military intelligence authorized Monaco bombing; female agent shot dead in woods after operation

According to BBC reports, former Ukrainian security official Vitaliy Zhikovych, who has been accused of involvement in the murder of the female agent in the Monaco bombing case, gave his first media interview from a Kyiv prison, claiming that the bombing targeting Ukrainian-origin billionaire Vadym Yermolayev was authorized by senior figures at Ukraine's military intelligence directorate (HUR).

The June explosion seriously injured Yermolayev himself and his 13-year-old son, while his partner suffered catastrophic injuries. Yermolayev afterward described his family's survival as "nothing short of a miracle," according to his remarks.

Anastasia Berezovska, the bomb placer captured on surveillance footage, was found dead a week after the incident in woods west of Kyiv, with a gunshot wound to the head. According to BBC reports, she had been living as a refugee in Germany and had been residing there with her young son since leaving Ukraine in early 2022.

Zhikovych described himself in the interview as a "freelancer" for the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and said Berezovska was his "agent." He insisted he had neither ordered her to kill anyone nor killed her. According to BBC reports, Zhikovych and active HUR intelligence officer Vladyslav Reiut have both been charged with the murder of Berezovska; Reiut initially confessed to investigators and led them to a shallow grave, but recanted several days later in court, shifting blame onto Zhikovych. The statements of the two accused contradict each other, and the facts of the case have not been finally determined by the court.

Regarding the motive for the attack, Zhikovych told BBC that Reiut told him the operation was retribution against Yermolayev for "financing the annexation of Crimea." As Zhikovych understood it, this meant Yermolayev had paid Russian taxes on his businesses in the occupied territory of Crimea. He relayed through his lawyer: "In my view, this constitutes grounds for the operation."

According to BBC reports, Zhikovych also revealed that Reiut initially mentioned two targets. When asked about the identity of the second person, Zhikovych declined to disclose. Other sources cited by BBC "strongly suggested" that the second target was a pro-Russian blogger who was convicted in absentia of treason by Ukraine last year. The report received no response from or independent confirmation by the individual.

According to BBC reports, Berezovska was said to have telephoned Zhikovych the day after she was identified as the bomb placer. When asked about her motive, she reportedly said Reiut had promised a large payment, remarking that "$50,000 doesn't just lie on the streets." She then returned to Ukraine to collect the payment, was led into the woods, and was shot dead. Local residents told BBC that Berezovska had been saving up to buy an apartment.

Zhikovych claimed that Berezovska lived a double life, working as his agent in operations "against Moscow"—that is, against Russia. The two reportedly met online and publicly described themselves as working to "repel the armed aggression of the Russian Federation." BBC reporting noted that Berezovska's husband called this account "nonsense," firmly believing his wife was unwittingly drawn into the affair.

Yermolayev himself had earlier renounced his Ukrainian citizenship and now holds Cypriot citizenship. According to BBC reports, an Estonian court earlier this year ruled that his son Artur had defrauded Estonian citizens of millions of euros through so-called "offisy" (scam call centres) operating inside Ukraine. Yermolayev said through Ukrainska Pravda that he had "never had any connection to this matter." BBC's reporting did not include a direct response from Yermolayev to Zhikovych's latest allegations.

BBC noted that there is a clear discrepancy between official Ukrainian accounts and Zhikovych's claims regarding the authorization of the operation, and whether HUR truly authorized the attack has not been independently confirmed. The capabilities and limits of Ukrainian national security agencies in carrying out acts of violence abroad, the mechanisms of accountability, and the handling of agents are continuing to come under scrutiny in connection with the Monaco attack and its subsequent killing.