Monaco, Monaco. Ukrainian-born businessman Vadym Iermolaiev, a Cypriot citizen, has accused serving and former officers of Ukraine’s military intelligence service, the GUR, of involvement in a bomb attack that seriously injured him and left his partner in critical condition.
In his first public statement since the bombing, released through his lawyers, Iermolaiev said the investigative evidence available to him indicated that serving GUR officers were directly involved in an attempted assassination.
Investigation and arrests
French investigators identified Ukrainian national Anastasiia Berezovska as the suspect accused of placing the explosive device in a public place with criminal intent. The bomb exploded as Iermolaiev was leaving an apartment building with his partner and their 13-year-old son.
Days after the attack, Berezovska was found dead near Kyiv. Ukrainian authorities arrested Vladyslav Reut, a GUR officer, and Oleksandr Zhikovych, a former law enforcement official, over her killing.
At a Kyiv court hearing last Thursday, Reut said Zhikovych was responsible for Berezovska’s murder. Prosecutors said the two men forced her into a car at gunpoint, took her to a forest near the village of Yuriv, about 60 kilometres west of Kyiv, and killed her.
Claims of wider involvement
Ukrainian prosecutors have described the case as an isolated act by a rogue intelligence officer, alleging that Reut concealed his contacts with Berezovska and acted without the knowledge or approval of the GUR leadership.
Iermolaiev rejected that account, saying the evidence available to him indicated the conspiracy extended beyond the direct perpetrators and organisers to serving GUR officers connected to them, including people close to the agency’s current and former leadership.
Family injuries
Iermolaiev said the blast was powerful enough to destroy steel railings and stone steps outside his home, describing it as an attempt to kill him and his family.
He said his partner, Anna, suffered catastrophic and irreversible injuries, while their son sustained burns, fractures and other serious injuries. Iermolaiev said he remained in intensive care and had begun a long recovery process.
The case has drawn attention in Ukraine amid claims of GUR involvement and possible knowledge by its leadership. It comes as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy faces criticism over his decision to dismiss Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.