The prime suspect in the bombing that wounded a Ukrainian businessman in Monaco on Monday is a Ukrainian woman who disguised herself as a man, local authorities have announced.
She has been identified in an Interpol Red Notice as 39-year-old Anastasiia Berezovska, whose last known residence was in Germany. She has a tattoo on her right arm, stretching from her shoulder to her elbow, believed to depict a snake, CNN reports.
After the attack, the suspect fled to neighboring France before driving to Italy in a German-registered rental car that investigators believe had been obtained specifically for the operation, prosecutors said.
The sophistication of the explosive device suggests that several people were involved in planning and carrying out the attack, the prosecutor’s office said, adding that two men were initially arrested in Monaco but were later released due to insufficient evidence.
🇲🇨 ATTENTAT DE MONACO : Interpol émet une notice rouge.
— Infos Françaises (@InfosFrancaises) July 3, 2026
La suspecte, une femme ukrainienne, a été identifiée comme "Anastasiia Berezovska", 39 ans, recherchée dans le cadre de l'enquête sur la tentative d'assassinat à la bombe d'un homme d'affaires ukrainien.
Elle "n'a pas agi… pic.twitter.com/uZVLokbZJ1
Authorities have been searching for the main suspect since the explosion four days ago at the entrance of one of Monaco’s most luxurious residential buildings. The intended target was Ukrainian-born businessman Vadym Yermolaiev, French broadcaster BFMTV reported.
Shortly after the bombing, BFMTV published a photograph of the suspect, who was initially believed by the media to be a man on the run. The image showed a person wearing a black sweater, light-colored trousers, and a black hat concealing their hair.
Yermolaiev, a woman, and a child were injured in the blast, Monaco authorities previously confirmed, without revealing their identities other than stating they belonged to “a family of Ukrainian origin.”
The identities of the woman and child have not been disclosed. However, the injured woman is not Vadym Yermolaiev’s wife. She told Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne on Tuesday that she was not in the apartment at the time of the attack and was not injured.
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According to prosecutors, one victim remains in critical condition, another sustained serious injuries, while a third suffered minor injuries. Two additional people were hurt by shattered glass on the street outside the building.
Although the motive remains unknown, Monaco’s Chief Prosecutor Stéphane Thibault previously described the case as an attempted assassination. It is believed to be the first recorded attempted bombing assassination in Monaco’s history, a city-state renowned for its exceptionally high level of security and extensive video surveillance.
Violence of this kind is extremely rare in Monaco, which covers an area roughly half the size of New York City’s Central Park but employs 556 police officers and operates 1,387 surveillance cameras. Last year, the principality recorded neither a single murder nor an attempted murder.
For that reason, the attack—which prosecutors believe was carefully planned—has deeply unsettled Monaco’s residents.
Security cameras captured the suspect repeatedly scouting the area before the bombing, wearing the same men’s clothing she had on the night of the attack.
However, on another day, surveillance footage showed a woman following the exact same route and behaving in the same manner, leading prosecutors to conclude that it was the same person who later planted the bomb.
According to prosecutors, the three victims were returning from dinner at a seaside restaurant when the suspect placed the explosive device at the entrance to their residential building. She then turned to check whether the victims were approaching before detonating the bomb remotely.
The multinational investigation is ongoing. German police announced on Friday that they had searched the rented apartment and vehicle used by the 39-year-old Ukrainian woman suspected of involvement in the attack and said that all collected evidence would be forwarded to the authorities in Monaco.
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Source: N1, Foto: Printscreen X