Journalists identify suspect in murder of woman linked to alleged assassination attempt on Ukrainian businessman Vadym Iermolaiev in Monaco

Two people were detained in the killing of Anastasiia Berezovska, including a Defense Intelligence employee and a former law enforcement officer.

According to Schemes’ sources, 33-year-old Vladyslav Reut is from Zhytomyr. A man with the same name graduated from the law faculty of Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics.

“In the NumBuster app, which shows how a user is saved in other people’s contacts, there is a tag ‘Vlad Lawyers,’ and court records mention a claimant’s representative with that name in several cases. Since 2022, Vladyslav Reut has likely served in military unit A2772 — the training center of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the journalists noted.

The journalists said they reached Reut’s father, who said he knew nothing about the suspicion and hung up. They also called Reut’s brother, who answered but declined to comment without a lawyer.

The name of the second suspect was not disclosed, but he is a 49-year-old native of Uman who worked as a police officer in Kyiv Oblast until 2020.

“Tags next to his mobile number include ‘OPV UKR,’ which may indicate he previously worked in the Criminal Investigation Department of the police. There is also a ‘Contr VB’ tag. Phone tags and data leaks also suggest the man may have previously been a serviceman in the Right Sector. According to two sources familiar with the case, he may be a current or former employee of Ukraine’s Security Service,” the investigation states.

This information has not been officially confirmed.

More on the attack

An explosion occurred at a residential building in Monaco, injuring a family of three Ukrainians. Initial reports identified them as businessman Vadym Iermolaiev, his wife, and son. It later emerged that the woman present was not Iermolaiev's wife but another woman, who had both legs amputated as a result of the blast.

Monaco Prime Minister Christophe Mirmand initially described the attack as a planned terrorist act, saying the explosive device may have contained bolts and metal fragments. Monaco's prosecutor general later disputed that characterization.

Ukrainska Pravda, citing its own sources, reported that French law enforcement believes the explosion may have been organized by organized crime figures and could be linked to call centers operating in Dnipro. French media reported that investigators were also examining possible involvement by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU).

Interpol later named 39-year-old Ukrainian citizen Anastasiia Berezovska as the suspect in the attack and issued a red notice for her arrest.

Ukrainska Pravda, citing law enforcement sources, subsequently reported that Berezovska's buried body, with a gunshot wound to the head, was found near Kyiv. The Prosecutor General's Office later confirmed the discovery. Two suspects in her killing have been detained — an officer with Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate and a former law enforcement officer, one of whom has confessed, according to investigators.

Who is Vadym Iermolaiev?

Vadym Iermolaiev is a businessman from Dnipro whose net worth Forbes estimated at $220 million in 2021. He is one of Dnipro's largest real estate developers and also has interests in financial markets, alcohol production, and agriculture.

hromadske journalists previously found that Alef Group, a company controlled by Iermolaiev, was contracted to supply granite for the construction of Ukraine's National Military Memorial Cemetery near Kyiv.

According to the SBU, Iermolaiev has held Cypriot citizenship since 2018 and re-registered his wine and spirits business in Russian-occupied Crimea under Russian law, paying taxes to the Russian state budget — actions that led Ukraine to impose sanctions on him.