The lifeless body of Anastasiia Berezovska, 39, was found last night in a location near the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. The woman, killed by gunshot, was actively sought by Interpol on suspicion of having carried out, on 29 June, a very serious explosive attack in the Principality of Monaco against the Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Yermolaiev and his family.
The breakthrough regarding the discovery has been confirmed by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), ratifying what was anticipated in the preceding hours by the online publication. Ukrainian Truth.
Confession and the “torture chamber”
The investigation into the murder of the 39-year-old has accelerated at lightning speed, leading to the arrest of two people on charges of premeditated murder. They are a serving officer with HUR, the Ukrainian military intelligence agency, and a former law enforcement officer.
The intelligence officer has confessed to the murder, stating that he ambushed Berezovska with the help of the former police officer, but clarified that he acted on his own initiative and without informing his superiors. Investigators had focused on the pair of suspects following the discovery of numerous suspicious transfers of money and cryptocurrencies to the victim. During searches, SBU agents made a grim discovery: a fully equipped torture chamber had been set up in the basement of the former police officer's home.
The foiled attack in the Principality of Monaco
Anastasiia Berezovska was at the top of the international wanted list following the dramatic events that took place on the French Riviera. For the first time in its recent history, the Principality of Monaco had been shaken by a bombing in a public place.
The target of the explosion was magnate Vadym Yermolaiev. The oligarch, his partner, and son survived the blast but sustained serious injuries. The Monegasque prosecutor's office, which had opened a case for attempted murder and the planting of an explosive device, had managed to identify Berezovska thanks to surveillance camera footage and some witness testimonies. Immediately after the attack, the woman had managed to escape by crossing the border into France on foot, before disappearing in a rental car heading towards Germany. A flight that ended tragically on the outskirts of Kyiv.
Who is Vadym Yermolaiev
The target of the attack, Vadym Yermolaiev, is a controversial and very prominent figure in the Ukrainian economic scene. Born in Dnipro – where he has undertaken impressive real estate projects, including large business and commercial centres – the entrepreneur boasts an estimated fortune of over $322 million, with interests ranging from agriculture and logistics to the production of building materials.
In 2019 Yermolaiev obtained Cypriot citizenship, but from 2023 he found himself under the axe of sanctions from the Ukrainian authorities themselves. The formal accusation against him is that he continued to carry out commercial and business activities in the Crimean peninsula, Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia. A network of interests and geopolitical tensions that investigators must now shed light on to understand if Berezovska's execution is linked to a settling of scores or an attempt to silence her.
