Suspect linked to Monaco bomb attack on millionaire breaks silence to BBC
A former Ukrainian security officer has alleged that a June bomb attack in Monaco targeting a millionaire was an official operation authorized by Ukraine's military intelligence agency. The suspect, currently imprisoned in Kyiv, claims he was a freelancer and denies involvement in the subsequent murder of his alleged accomplice.
Why it matters
This report highlights potential internal conflicts and accountability issues within Ukrainian intelligence services during the ongoing war.
Image source, Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images Image caption, Vitalii Zhykovych appeared in open court during the summer and has spoken to the BBC from prison
A former Ukrainian security services officer linked to a bomb attack in Monaco in June that targeted a multi-millionaire says he believed it was ordered by senior members of HUR, Ukraine's military intelligence agency.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC from prison in Kyiv, facilitated by his lawyer, Vitalii Zhykovych has given his own account of the attempted assassination for the first time.
Ukrainian-born businessman Vadym Yermolayev and his 13-year-old son were badly hurt in the blast and his partner suffered catastrophic injuries. Yermolayev later described their survival as "nothing short of a miracle".
Zhykovych describes himself as a "freelancer" for Ukraine's SBU security service and says Anastasia Berezovska, the woman caught on camera planting the bomb in Monaco, was his "agent".
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