In brief
In a courtroom hearing in Kyiv, Vladyslav Reut, a senior intelligence officer, claimed he did not fire the shot that killed Anastasiia Berezovska, the woman suspected of a Monaco bomb plot. Reut counter‑charged co‑defendant Vitalii Zhykovych with the murder, pointing to an alleged intimidation scenario. The case is complex: investigators trace cash and crypto transfers to Berezovska’s accounts, and security footage shows both suspects heavily armed and masked during proceedings. Ukrainian authorities are exploring a range of theories, including Russian influence and organised crime links. Both men remain in custody while investigators assess the shifting testimonies.
In a courtroom hearing in Kyiv, Vladyslav Reut, a senior intelligence officer, claimed he did not fire the shot that killed Anastasiia Berezovska, the woman suspected of a Monaco bomb plot.
Reut, 34, who previously led investigators to Berezovska’s grave in a forest west of Kyiv, said that he categorically denied committing the murder and accused co‑defendant Vitalii Zhykovych of the act.
Both suspects are guarded and facially hidden with balaclavas as they sit inside a glass‑caged courtroom chamber, hands cuffed on the central table.
Researchers found cash and cryptocurrency transfers to Berezovska’s accounts from the two men, and the Kramer‑SBU service has been implicated in an earlier investigation.
Reut alleges that Zhykovych forced him to shoot, threatening that his family would be harmed if the gun was not fired. He also claims that the woman had been “hidden” for a criminal matter, but the details remain unclear.
Zhykovych’s lawyer dismisses the threat narrative and suggests that a Russian influence may be involved, referencing past incidents of Ukrainian agents recruited by Moscow.
The prosecutor notes that both men acted jointly and have been charged with pre‑meditated murder; bail was denied and the men remain in custody.
President Volodymyr Zelensky promised additional reports in the coming days as the investigation into the Monaco bomb and the subsequent murder unfolds.
