Key facts
- Businessman Vadym Iermolaiev claims Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) officers attempted to assassinate him and his family in Monaco.
- Iermolaiev, his wife, and son were injured in an explosion in Monaco on June 29.
- A suspect in the attack, Anastasia Berezovska, was found dead in Ukraine.
- Ukrainian authorities have charged a HUR officer, Yevhen Reut, with Berezovska's murder and are investigating him for the Monaco incident.
- Reut confessed to killing Berezovska with another suspect, a former police officer.
- Iermolaiev believes the operation involved active-duty HUR officers and potentially individuals linked to the agency's leadership.
Businessman Vadym Iermolaiev has accused officers of Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) of attempting to assassinate him and his family in Monaco, according to a report by Nice-Matin on July 15. Iermolaiev, his wife, and their 13-year-old son were injured in an explosion in their Monaco apartment building on June 29.
Citing a letter from Iermolaiev published by his law firm, Dynasty Law & Investment, the businessman stated that evidence suggests active-duty HUR officers were directly involved in the attempted assassination and that the operation may have extended to individuals with ties to the agency's leadership. He argued that such actions, if orchestrated by intelligence officers on European soil, constitute a matter of international security and trust in public institutions.
Ukrainian authorities previously stated that suspects were operating without HUR leadership's knowledge, with Military Intelligence Chief Oleh Ivashchenko personally assisting the investigation. The body of Anastasia Berezovska, a Ukrainian citizen suspected by Monaco of carrying out the assassination attempt, was found in Ukraine on July 7. Ukrainian officials reported that Berezovska had been in contact with a HUR employee, Yevhen Reut, and a former police officer, Vitaliy Zhykovych, after returning to Ukraine. Reut has since been charged with murdering Berezovska, along with Zhykovych, and is also being investigated as a suspect in the Monaco attack. Reut has reportedly confessed to killing Berezovska with Zhykovych and claimed he acted on his own initiative without informing his superiors.
Iermolaiev, a prominent businessman from Dnipro with assets in agribusiness, real estate, and construction, renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2017 and is now a Cypriot citizen. He has resided in Monaco since 2022. He expressed gratitude to President Volodymyr Zelensky for his attention to the case and called on authorities in Monaco, France, and Ukraine, as well as international institutions, to ensure the safety of his family, witnesses, and legal team until all responsible parties, including the instigator, are identified and brought to justice. Iermolaiev emphasized that his statement was not directed against Ukraine or its people.