Ukrainian agent retracts court confession in the murder of suspect in attack on multimillionaire in Monaco

In a new twist in the case of the alleged attack on a multimillionaire businessman in Monaco, a Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR) agent accused of murdering Anastasiia Berezovska has changed his statement before the court. He denied being the perpetrator and shifted responsibility to the person suspected of being his accomplice.

During a hearing to determine the security measure in a Kyiv court, Vladyslav Reut said that 39-year-old Berezovska had not been killed by him. This marks a change from his position a few days earlier, when he had confessed to the crime and led investigators to the grave where her body had been hidden in a forest west of the Ukrainian capital.

According to the new version presented by Reut, the killer was Vitalii Zhykovych, a former employee of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). He claimed that Zhykovych had first threatened him and then personally shot the victim with four bullets before the two of them hid the body.

The GUR agent said he had initially taken the blame for the crime because he had been threatened that his family would be put at risk if he did not do so. “I fought against the enemy to defend my country. I would never knowingly kill an innocent civilian woman,” he told the courtroom.

For his part, Zhykovych’s lawyer disputed these claims, describing them as unsubstantiated. According to him, his client, a former low-ranking SBU officer and veteran of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, did not commit the murder. He also cast doubt on the idea that such a person could give orders to an active military intelligence officer.

Prosecutors claim that the two defendants acted together in a coordinated manner and both have been charged with premeditated murder. According to investigators, their link to the victim is supported by phone records, as well as transfers of money and cryptocurrency to her accounts.

Anastasiia Berezovska had been identified as a suspect in the investigation into the attempted attack on businessman Vadym Yermolayev in Monaco. Authorities say she entered Ukraine from Poland two days after the explosion, before the investigation began, which later led to the arrest of the two suspects.