The Mystery Behind the Attack on Ukrainian Oligarch in Monaco: Woman Paid Up to €7,000 for the Killing Was Executed Days Later

An investigative report by CNN has uncovered new details about the attack on Ukrainian oligarch Vadim Yermolaev in Monaco, as well as unusual developments that took place after the assassination attempt.

Yermolaev survived an explosion near his home. Meanwhile, Anastasia Berezovskaya, the woman suspected of being part of the plot, left Monaco and was found dead in Ukraine several days later, with a bullet wound to the head.

Sources close to the Ukrainian investigation suspect that Berezovskaya may have been merely an operative recruited in exchange for payment. Investigative findings show that she received between €6,000 and €7,000 through bank transfers and cryptocurrencies. After leaving Monaco and returning to Ukraine, she was abducted by two people and later killed.

Vladislav Reut and Vitaly Zykovich are suspected of her murder, and they have given differing accounts of what happened. Reut, who was serving as an officer of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence (GUR) at the time of the attack in Monaco, has admitted to being involved but says he acted without his superiors’ knowledge. Ukrainian authorities, meanwhile, deny that the intelligence service had any connection to the incident.

Yermolaev himself says he does not believe the order to eliminate him came from the Ukrainian state. However, he believes that people with experience in covert operations may have been privately hired by someone.

“Determining who ordered it—that is the main question today,” he told CNN in a statement. Despite the investigation, it remains unclear who commissioned the attack and what the motive was for targeting the Ukrainian oligarch.