Monaco parcel-bomb suspect found shot dead near Kyiv as Ukrainian officers detained

A Ukrainian woman wanted over a parcel-bomb attack in Monaco has been found shot dead near Kyiv, according to Ukrainian prosecutors and security officials. The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Anastasiia Berezovska, had been the subject of an Interpol red notice after authorities in Monaco accused her of attempted murder and placing an explosive device in a public place. Ukrainian officials said the case has now widened into a separate murder investigation involving people linked to the country's military intelligence structures.

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Ukraine's prosecutor general's office said the body was found near the capital late on Monday, around 11pm local time, and later confirmed that Berezovska had been shot dead. Prosecutors said they detained an employee of Ukraine's military intelligence service, known as HUR, who said he killed her together with another suspect. The security service said two men had been detained on suspicion of murder, including a current officer in the Ministry of Defence's main intelligence directorate and a former law enforcement officer.

The Monaco case had already drawn attention because the alleged target was a Ukrainian-born businessman, Vadym Yermolaiev, who was injured along with his partner and son in the attack on 29 June. Monaco's deputy prosecutor said last week that the attacker left the principality on foot for nearby France and then travelled by car to Germany via several European countries, including Italy. Ukrainian officials said Berezovska arrived in Ukraine two days after the attack, on 1 July, and later communicated with family members and the two men now under investigation.

The killing adds a new layer to an already sensitive cross-border case involving alleged organised violence, international police cooperation and possible links to state structures. It also raises questions about how a suspect wanted in one European jurisdiction came to be found dead in another, and why people connected to Ukraine's defence and intelligence apparatus are now facing murder allegations. The case is likely to be watched closely in Monaco, Ukraine and other European capitals because it touches on both criminal accountability and the conduct of officials with access to sensitive institutions.

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Interpol's red notice described Berezovska as Ukrainian and said she spoke German. It said she was wanted in Monaco for attempted murder, placing an explosive device in a public place with criminal intent, and criminal conspiracy. Ukrainian media and law enforcement sources said the attack targeted Yermolaiev, who was given Cypriot nationality in 2019 and was placed under Ukrainian sanctions in 2023, reportedly over business activity in Russian-occupied Crimea.

The latest developments also point to the broader challenge of transnational investigations when suspects move quickly across borders. Monaco authorities had already said the alleged attacker travelled through several European countries after leaving the principality, while Ukrainian prosecutors are now examining whether the killing in Ukraine was linked to the earlier bombing case. The reported discovery of a basement room resembling a torture chamber during a search of one suspect's home adds to the seriousness of the domestic inquiry, although officials have not yet explained its relevance.

For now, the main unanswered questions are who ordered the Monaco attack, whether the killing in Ukraine was intended to silence a witness or settle a separate dispute, and how many people were involved in either episode. Ukrainian police and HUR have not publicly commented in detail on the allegations, and the identities of the detained men have not been formally released in the supplied material. Further statements from prosecutors in Ukraine and any response from Monaco are likely to determine whether the case remains a murder inquiry, expands into a wider conspiracy investigation, or both.

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