A Ukrainian military intelligence officer accused of murdering the prime suspect in a Monaco bombing has retracted his confession in court, blaming an alleged accomplice for the killing. Vladyslav Reut, an active officer with the GUR, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with premeditated murder alongside former SBU employee Vitalii Zhykovych.
Reut initially led investigators to Anastasiia Berezovska's grave in a forest west of Kyiv before telling judges that Zhykovych fired the fatal shots and threatened his family. Zhykovych's lawyer denied the allegations, and a court ordered both men held for two months pending investigation. Investigators had traced financial transfers from both men to Berezovska, who fled to Ukraine days after leaving a rucksack bomb outside a Monaco apartment block on June 29 that injured businessman Vadym Yermolayev and his family.
The bombing targeted Yermolayev, who was sanctioned by Kyiv for trading with occupied Crimea. French President Emmanuel Macron has urged President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the case.