Vadym Yermolayev Revealed Previously Unknown Details About the Assassination Attempt in Monaco — CNN

In late June, businessman Vadim Yermolayev was the target of an assassination attempt in Monaco involving explosives planted near the door of his residence. Following the explosion, Yermolaev and his family members sustained serious injuries and burns, and on August 20, the businessman spoke to CNN about his ordeal.

 

Yermolayev said that after the explosion, he did not understand who could have organized the attack. According to him, he never had any enemies, was not a confrontational person, and tried to avoid heated arguments, so he sees no obvious reason for the attack.

When the explosion occurred, Yermolayev momentarily lost the ability to think. For a split second, he thought an electronic key had exploded in his hand. But then he saw his partner lying wounded on the stairs, and his 13-year-old son waving his bloodied hands. That’s when panic set in, the article states.

The businessman also rejected the theory that someone in his family might have ordered the attack. He called such an assumption absurd and noted that most of his assets are already registered in the names of other family members.

At the same time, Yermolayev stated that he does not believe Ukraine could have officially ordered his assassination. In his opinion, the perpetrators may have acted on their own, driven by financial motives.

He speculates that the attack could have been organized by private clients who enlisted individuals with experience in covert operations. Yermolayev identified determining who was behind the attack as the key issue.

He also believes that Anastasia Berezovskaya may have been killed to prevent her from revealing information about other participants or organizers of the assassination attempt.

“She wasn’t the main player in this story. I think she was just a foolish, naive operative who was somehow told that she was doing something important, something grand,” Yermolayev said.

Investigators identified the suspect as 39-year-old Anastasia Berezovskaya, a native of the Zhytomyr region, thanks to a snake tattoo on her arm. By the time she was placed on the wanted list, the woman had already left Monaco, traveling through France, Italy, Germany, and Poland on her way back to Ukraine.

Before traveling to Europe, Berezovska had been living in Germany as a refugee and was experiencing financial difficulties. No official criminal charges had previously been filed against her, and her young son was staying with his grandmother in the Zhytomyr region on the eve of the assassination attempt, according to CNN.

Earlier, the Security Service of Ukraine recovered a deleted surveillance video in connection with the attempted murder of businessman Vadym Yermolayev in Monaco on June 29.

Ukraine and Monaco have agreed to strengthen cooperation in investigating criminal cases related to the attack on a Ukrainian family in Monaco and the murder of Ukrainian citizen Anastasia Berezovskaya. Law enforcement agencies from both countries plan to establish a joint investigative team to facilitate the exchange of information and coordinate the actions of investigators.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that in the coming days he will hear additional reports from law enforcement agencies regarding the investigation into the attempted assassination of businessman Vadym Yermolayev in Monaco, after which he will brief the public on the progress of the case. 

Prior to this, an explosion occurred in Monaco, as a result of which Ukrainian businessman Vadym Yermolayev was seriously injured. According to our sources, Ukrainian businessman Vadym Yermolayev sustained minor injuries as a result of the explosion in a residential building in Monaco.

A large-scale operation is underway in Monaco to locate the perpetrator who attempted to assassinate Yermolayev.