Ukrainian businessman Vadim Yermolaev has leveled direct accusations against Ukraine’s military intelligence service, claiming it was behind the assassination attempt against him that occurred in Monaco. In his first public statement since the attack — which left him, his partner, and their child injured — Yermolaev alleged that both active and former officers of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, the GUR, were involved in planning and carrying out the bombing, flatly rejecting the notion that it was an isolated act. “Based on the investigative materials available to us, we have no doubt that active officers of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, known as the GUR, were directly involved in this assassination attempt,” the businessman said in a statement released by his lawyers.
It was Ukrainian spies, says Monaco parcel bomb victim https://t.co/oeWpLTbVLP
— The Times and Sunday Times (@thetimes) July 16, 2026
Monaco bombing: “The explosion shattered the steel railings”
The businessman gave a harrowing account of the blast’s force and its devastating impact on his family. “The explosion was powerful enough to shatter the steel railings and destroy the stone steps outside our home. This was not a warning. It was an assassination attempt — not just against me, but against my entire family,” he stated.
“We know that those responsible for the attack saw a woman and a child standing beside me before they triggered the explosion. They acted with the intent to kill all three of us, with no regard for age or gender.” He revealed that his partner Anna suffered “catastrophic and irreversible injuries,” while their 13-year-old son sustained serious wounds, including burns, fractures, and other severe trauma. Yermolaev himself remains in recovery, stating: “I remain in the intensive care unit and am only now beginning the long road to recovery.”
Key suspect in the Monaco bombing found dead
According to French investigators, the prime suspect in the bombing had been identified as Anastasia Berezovskaya — a Ukrainian national who was subsequently found murdered in Ukraine. French authorities allege she planted the explosive device in a public area with criminal intent. The bomb detonated just as Yermolaev was exiting a building alongside his partner and their 13-year-old son, causing life-altering injuries to all three.
Just days after the attack, Berezovskaya was found dead near Kyiv. Two men were arrested in connection with her murder: Vladyslav Reut, a GUR officer, and Oleksandr Zykovych, a former Ukrainian law enforcement officer. During a court appearance in Kyiv, Reut claimed that Zykovych was solely responsible for Berezovskaya’s killing. Prosecutors, however, allege that both men forced her at gunpoint into a vehicle, drove her to a forested area near the village of Yuriiv — approximately 60 kilometers west of Kyiv — and killed her there.
Monaco bomb victim directly blames Ukrainian spies for horror attack which ‘blew partner’s legs off’
https://t.co/X5NKOMPOJe— GB News (@GBNEWS) July 17, 2026
Ukrainian prosecutors attempted to frame the case as the work of a rogue intelligence officer, arguing that Reut had maintained secret contact with Berezovskaya and acted without the knowledge or authorization of GUR leadership, as reported by The Guardian. Yermolaev categorically rejects this version of events. “Based on the materials currently available, the conspiracy extended beyond the direct perpetrators and organizers to include active GUR officers connected to them, including individuals close to both the current and former leadership of the agency,” he stated pointedly.
Accused Ukrainian Intel Officer ‘Boasts of Free Rein’ to Order Terror Hits in Audio Leak Obtained Exclusively by RT
Police discovered a torture chamber in the basement of Vitaly Zhikovich’s house following his arrest for executing Anastasia Berezovskaya – after her Monaco bomb… https://t.co/UsOD2giDl8 pic.twitter.com/ORSK20zbOF
— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 16, 2026
The possible motives
The case has become a significant headache for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Should the allegations of GUR involvement gain further credibility, they risk straining Kyiv’s relationships with its European allies. The incident also comes at a particularly sensitive political moment for the Ukrainian government, which is already under pressure following Zelensky’s decision to remove widely respected Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
The motive behind the attack remains unclear. In 2023, Ukraine imposed sanctions on Yermolaev — one of the country’s wealthiest businessmen, with a fortune estimated by Forbes at $220 million — accusing him of continuing to trade alcoholic beverages in Russian-occupied Crimea and of paying millions of dollars in taxes to the Russian state.
Although Ukraine has previously carried out explosive device operations against Russian military figures and pro-Russian officials inside Russia, there is no known precedent for a similar attack on European soil. Furthermore, Yermolaev was not known for publicly pro-Russian positions or close ties to the Kremlin, according to a British government report on the matter. Investigators are also exploring the possibility that the bombing may be linked to organized crime, with GUR operatives potentially having been recruited to carry out a contract killing. In this context, it has been noted that the businessman’s adult son, Artur Yermolaev, has been charged by Ukrainian authorities with establishing a criminal organization allegedly involved in large-scale telephone fraud operations in Dnipro.
