Ukrainian Intelligence Officer Changes Story in Murder Case Linked to Monaco Bomb Plot

A Ukrainian intelligence officer accused of killing the woman suspected of carrying out last week's failed assassination attempt on a wealthy businessman and his family in Monaco has changed his account of what happened, telling a court that he did not pull the trigger.

Vladyslav Reut appeared before a court in Kyiv during a custody hearing, where he denied murdering 39-year-old Anastasiia Berezovska despite previously confessing to the crime and leading investigators to her grave in a forest west of the Ukrainian capital.

Reut, an active officer with Ukraine's military intelligence agency, claimed that his alleged accomplice, former security service officer Vitalii Zhykovych, was responsible for the shooting. According to Reut, the pair picked up Berezovska because she needed to be hidden over what he described as a criminal matter. He alleged that Zhykovych later ordered him to shoot her before carrying out the killing himself when Reut refused.

Prosecutors, however, maintain that both men acted together in a coordinated plan and have charged them with premeditated murder. Investigators said phone records, cash transfers, and cryptocurrency payments connected the two suspects to Berezovska after she returned to Ukraine shortly after the explosion in Monaco.

The blast targeted businessman Vadym Yermolayev, who made his fortune in the cognac and real estate industries. Although he was born in Ukraine, he later gave up his Ukrainian citizenship and has been sanctioned by Kyiv over business activities in Russian-occupied Crimea.

The motive behind the attack remains unclear, with investigators considering several possible explanations, including organized crime, corruption, and potential foreign involvement. Ukrainian prosecutors said all possible leads are being examined but declined to reveal details that could affect the ongoing investigation.

Both suspects remain in custody as authorities continue investigating one of the country's most closely watched criminal cases in recent months.