An active Ukrainian military intelligence officer withdrew his murder confession in court, blaming his accomplice for killing a Monaco bomb suspect.
A highly sensitive international thriller took an explosive turn in a Kyiv courtroom on Thursday, July 9, 2026. Vladyslav Reut, an active and decorated officer of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (GUR), suddenly withdrew his confession regarding the execution-style murder of 39-year-old Anastasiia Berezovska. Berezovska was the prime suspect wanted globally by Interpol for the June 29 bombing in Monaco that targeted the family of sanctioned multi-millionaire tycoon Vadym Yermolayev.
The courtroom drama erupted during a high-stakes custody hearing in Ukraine’s capital, where Reut, 34, categorically denied pulling the trigger. Instead, he shifted the blame entirely onto his co-defendant, 50-year-old Vitalii Zhykovych, a former SBU operative, Ukraine’s domestic security service. Heavily armed security guards in balaclavas stood watch as Reut claimed that Zhykovych forced him to help bury the body after threatening his family. Zhykovych’s defense attorney quickly rejected this narrative, describing his client as a low-level former officer and a dedicated patriot who could never dictate orders to a serving elite military spy.
This deep-rooted mystery began to unravel on July 1, 2026, when Berezovska crossed the border from Poland into Ukraine by bus. Unbeknownst to her, investigators were already tracking her digital footprint. By analyzing her phone logs, Ukrainian authorities discovered substantial cash and cryptocurrency transactions linking her directly to Reut and Zhykovych. Prosecutors allege that the two men acted in perfect, malicious coordination, using a black BMW to pick up Berezovska on July 3 on the pretense of hiding her, before driving her to an isolated forest near the village of Yuriv. There, she was shot four times, and her body was buried under branches.
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The ultimate motive driving this high-profile execution remains shrouded in secrecy. The target of the initial Monaco blast, Vadym Yermolayev, is an elite real estate and cognac mogul who renounced his Ukrainian citizenship for a Cypriot passport years ago. He was officially sanctioned by President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2023 for allegedly conducting illegal business operations in Russian-occupied Crimea. The fact that active and former state intelligence officers paid the suspected hitwoman before executing her has raised deeply uncomfortable questions for the government in Kyiv.
While Zhykovych’s defense team floated the theory of a potential Russian infiltration plot within Ukraine’s security apparatus, prosecutors have remained tight-lipped. Prosecutor Dmytro Tkachuk confirmed that investigators are exploring all angles, ranging from organized crime to internal corruption, noting that one suspect provided confidential insights regarding the underlying motive. On Thursday evening, President Zelensky addressed the unfolding crisis, promising that additional, comprehensive reports regarding the investigation would be made public in the coming days. For now, the judge has denied bail to both intelligence operatives, remanding them in custody as the world watches a complex web of espionage and murder play out.
