A woman suspected in a June 29 bombing in Monaco has been found shot dead near Kyiv, just over a week after the attack. The blast, detonated remotely, struck the lobby of an apartment building and targeted Ukrainian-born businessman Vadym Yermolaiev, 58, along with his wife and 13-year-old son. Yermolaiev and his wife were seriously wounded; their son sustained lesser injuries.
Interpol had named the suspect as Anastasiia Berezovska, 39, a Ukrainian national wanted for attempted murder and placing an explosive device. She reportedly arrived in Ukraine on July 1, two days after the bombing. Ukraine’s SBU has since detained two men in connection with her death: a current employee of Ukraine’s military intelligence service (HUR) and a former law enforcement officer. The HUR employee reportedly admitted to killing Berezovska but claimed he acted alone, without informing superiors. A search of the second suspect’s home reportedly turned up a room resembling a torture chamber.
Source: France 24, CBS News
So What
Three explanations fit what’s known so far. This could be a rogue HUR operator silencing a loose end before she could be interrogated or extradited. It could be a sanctioned hit dressed up as freelance activity, giving Kyiv deniability. Or it could be a criminal network eliminating a witness in a way engineered to implicate Ukrainian intelligence and embarrass Kyiv internationally. The “acted alone” claim is doing a lot of work here, and is exactly what officials would say either way. Given the timing, speed, and the torture-chamber detail, a rogue or semi-sanctioned elimination looks more likely than an outside frame job. The full picture won’t be clear until investigators explain the chain of command.
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