Target of Monaco bomb blames attack on Ukrainian spy agency

Vadym Iermolaiev says the attack on him in Monaco was not a warning but an attempt to kill him and his family. Photograph: Twitter X View image in fullscreen Vadym Iermolaiev says the attack on him in Monaco was not a warning but an attempt to kill him and his family. Photograph: Twitter X Target of Monaco bomb blames attack on Ukrainian spy agency Vadym Iermolaiev says military intelligence officers were behind assassination attempt that seriously wounded his wife and child Europe live – latest updates The Ukrainian businessman who survived an assassination attempt in Monaco has accused Ukraine’s military intelligence agency of organising the attack. In his first public statement since the bombing that shook the wealthy principality, Vadym Iermolaiev alleged that serving and former officers of the GUR military intelligence agency were behind the attempted killing, which left him injured but his partner critically wounded. “Based on the investigative evidence available to us, we have no doubt that serving officers of the main intelligence directorate of the ministry of defence of Ukraine, commonly known as the GUR, were directly involved in this attempted assassination,” Iermolaiev said in a statement published by his lawyers. French investigators have identified the suspected bomber as Anastasiia Berezovska, accusing the Ukrainian national of planting an explosive device in a public place with criminal intent. The bomb detonated as Iermolaiev emerged from a building with his partner and their 13-year-old child. Days after the attack, Berezovska was found dead near Kyiv. Ukrainian authorities have arrested two suspects over her killing: Vladyslav Reut, an officer with the GUR, and former law enforcement officer Oleksandr Zhykovych. Appearing in a Kyiv court last Thursday, Reut claimed Zhykovych was responsible for Berezovska’s murder. According to prosecutors, the pair forced her at gunpoint into a car before taking her to a forest near the village of Yuriv, about 60km (40 miles) west of the capital, where she was killed. View image in fullscreen An Interpol image showing Anastasiia Berezovska in Monaco, where she is said to have planted the bomb outside Vadym Iermolaiev’s home. Photograph: INTERPOL/AFP/Getty Images Ukrainian prosecutors have sought to portray the case as the actions of a rogue intelligence officer, alleging that Reut concealed his contacts with Berezovska and acted without the knowledge or authorisation of the agency’s leadership. Iermolaiev rejected that account in his statement, writing: “According to the evidence currently available, the conspiracy extended beyond the direct perpetrators and organisers to include serving GUR officers connected to them, including individuals close to the agency’s current and former leadership”. Iermolaiev said the explosion “was powerful enough to tear apart steel railings and destroy the stone steps outside our home. This was not a warning. It was an attempt to kill not only me, but my family