Ukrainian woman who disguised herself as a man is main suspect in Monaco attack
Prime suspect of bomb attack Injured Ukrainian businessman A Ukrainian woman disguised herself as a man in Monaco on Monday, local authorities said.
The woman, named in the Interpol Red Notice as 39-year-old Anastasiia Berezovska, was last resident of Germany and had a tattoo of a possibly snake on her right arm, stretching from her shoulder to her elbow.
Prosecutors added that after the attack, the suspect fled to neighboring France, then went to Italy in a car with German license plates rented for the operation.
Prosecutors said the complexity of the bomb used indicated that more than one perpetrator was involved, adding that two men were arrested in Monaco and released due to lack of evidence.
Anastasiia Berezovska is wanted in connection with the bombing in Monaco earlier this week. -Interpol
The main suspect has been the subject of a manhunt since a bomb targeting Ukrainian-born businessman Vadym Yermolaiev exploded at the entrance of one of Monaco’s most swanky apartment buildings four days ago, according to CNN’s French affiliate BFMTV.
Shortly after the attack, BFMTV shared a photo of the reported suspect, who media outlets initially assumed was a man on the run, wearing a black sweater, light-colored pants, and apparently with his hair tucked under a black hat.
Monegasque officials had previously said that Yermolaiev, a woman and a child were injured in the explosion, but did not publicly identify the victims beyond confirming that they were “from a family of Ukrainian origin.”
The identities of the woman and child are unknown, but the injured woman is not Yermolaiev’s wife. He told Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne on Tuesday that he was not at home at the time of the attack and was not injured.
One of the victims sustained life-threatening injuries, one suffered serious injuries and the other suffered minor injuries, prosecutors said Friday. Two more people were injured due to glass fragments found in the street outside the building.
Although the motive is still unclear, Monaco prosecutor Stéphane Thibault had previously described the bombing as an “assassination attempt”; making it the first bomb assassination attempt ever recorded on the highly surveilled, secure streets of Monaco.
CNN affiliate BFMTV reported that Vadym Yermolaiev was targeted in the explosion. – Taken from CNN
This kind of violence is incredibly unusual in Monaco, which is half the size of Central Park but has 556 police officers and 1,387 CCTV cameras monitoring the area. It’s so safe that there were no murders or even attempted murders last year.
So such an attack, which prosecutors believe was carefully planned, shook the city-state.
Security cameras recorded that the suspect had observed the area several times beforehand, wearing the masculine disguise he wore on the night of the attack.
However, one day, a woman followed the same path and exhibited similar behavior, which led prosecutors to conclude that the woman might have been the person who planted the bomb.
Prosecutors said that on the night of the attack, the three victims were returning from dinner at a seaside restaurant when the suspect placed a bomb at the entrance of their building. The suspect then turned around to check if the victims were nearby and triggered the bomb with the remote control.
Investigations covering many countries continue. German police said on Friday that they had searched the rental apartment and car of a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman suspected of being involved in the attack and would share the evidence with Monegasque authorities.
This story has been updated with developments.
CNN’s Ivana Kottasová and Rupert Neate contributed reporting.
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