The investigation into the Monaco bombing has taken a dramatic new turn after the woman wanted over the attack was reportedly found shot dead near Kyiv.
Anastasiia Berezovska, 39, had been named by Interpol as the main suspect in the bombing, which injured Ukrainian-born businessman Vadym Yermolaiev, his partner and his son in Monaco on Monday 29 June.
According to Reuters, citing Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda, Berezovska’s body was found near the Ukrainian capital on Monday 6 July. The report said she had been shot, and that two people had been detained in connection with her death.
One of the detained individuals was described in Ukrainian media reports as an officer from Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, known as HUR. The second was described as a former law enforcement officer. Reuters reported that Ukrainian police and HUR had not publicly commented at the time of publication.
The reported detentions raise serious new questions about whether Berezovska’s death was connected to the Monaco bombing investigation, whether she had accomplices, and whether the wider case may involve intelligence-linked networks, organised crime, private disputes, or other forces still unknown.
Berezovska had been the subject of an Interpol Red Notice after being identified as the main suspect in the attack. Interpol said she was wanted on charges including attempted murder, placing an explosive device in a public place with criminal intent, and criminal conspiracy.
Monaco prosecutors previously said the attacker allegedly left a parcel containing an explosive device outside a residential building before detonating it remotely as the victims arrived. Investigators said the suspect then fled on foot into France before travelling through several European countries.
Authorities initially believed the attacker was a man, based on early CCTV footage. Later analysis led investigators to identify the suspect as a woman allegedly disguised in male clothing.
German police also searched a rented apartment and vehicle linked to Berezovska near Frankfurt as part of the wider investigation. Evidence recovered in Germany was expected to be passed to Monegasque authorities.
Monaco officials have said the bombing appeared to be targeted and that the suspect may not have acted alone. The reported detention of two people following Berezovska’s death will likely intensify that line of inquiry.
The motive for the original Monaco bombing remains officially unconfirmed.
Media reports have identified the injured businessman as Vadym Yermolaiev, a Ukrainian-born businessman who later became a Cypriot national and was placed under Ukrainian sanctions in 2023. Monaco authorities have not officially named the victims, but investigators have treated the attack as targeted.
For Monaco, the case remains deeply unsettling. The principality is known for its security, discretion and carefully polished calm, making the bombing and the international manhunt that followed all the more extraordinary.
The reported death of the main suspect now leaves investigators with a new and urgent set of questions: who was behind the Monaco attack, who helped Berezovska, and why was she reportedly killed just days after being publicly named by Interpol?
For now, the case remains an active international investigation, with key details still awaiting official confirmation.