A Ukrainian intelligence agent who confessed to killing the woman suspected of trying to assassinate a multimillionaire and his family in Monaco last week has now claimed he did not pull the trigger, according to court proceedings in Kyiv.

Agent and Co-Defendant Face Trial

Vladyslav Reut, an active and decorated officer of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, GUR, and his co-defendant Vitalii Zhykovych—who worked for the SBU security service—were brought into court for separate hearings with their hands cuffed and surrounded by heavily armed security officers. Both kept their hoods up and faces covered for most of the proceedings.

Reut, who a few days ago led investigators to Anastasiia Berezovska’s grave in the woods, now denies committing her murder and blames his alleged accomplice instead. In court on Thursday, he said he “categorically denied” involvement in the murder.

Motives and Background Remain Unclear

The motive for the Monaco blast that targeted Vadym Yermolayev, a businessman in cognac and real estate, remains unclear. Yermolayev had renounced his Ukrainian citizenship years ago and was later sanctioned by Kyiv for continuing to do business in Crimea after it was taken by Russia.

Reut led investigators to Berezovska’s body, which was buried in the woods west of Kyiv, in a grave covered with branches. In court, the prosecutor clarified that Berezovska had arrived in Ukraine two days after the blast in Monaco and before she was identified as the prime suspect in the case. She crossed by bus from Poland.

Investigators used Berezovska’s phone records to hone in on Zhykovych and Reut, identifying cash and cryptocurrency transfers to her accounts. Initially, Reut appeared to confess to shooting Berezovska and took investigators to the spot where he had buried her body. However, in court just days later, the GUR agent announced that he wanted to “tell the truth” and shifted the blame to Zhykovych.

Reut claimed that he and Zhykovych had driven in his BMW to pick up Berezovska on the highway to Kyiv because she “needed to be hidden” in connection with “a criminal matter.” He does not clarify what that was.

According to Reut’s revised account, Zhykovych produced a modified Makarov pistol from his rucksack and loaded it. When he protested, Zhykovych claimed it was just a precaution “in case she panics.” After collecting Berezovska, Reut says he was directed to drive towards the village of Yuriv where all three got out on a forest path. There, Zhykovych ordered him to shoot, saying: “It’s either her or us.”

Legal and Political Implications

In Reut’s telling, Zhykovych then killed Berezovska himself with four shots before the pair dug a grave and hid her body. He says Zhykovych then threw the gun into a nearby lake along with her belongings. However, if Reut didn’t shoot her, why would he confess?

Reut now says he was threatened by Zhykovych. “He said, ‘If anything happens to me, your relatives are in danger,'” he claims. Zhykovych’s lawyer rejected that new account. Anatoliy Ivanov, who described his client as a low-level former SBU officer, dismissed the idea that a mere civilian could have ordered a serving GUR member to do anything, let alone carry out a murder. He called Zhykovych a “patriot” who had fought in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and “actively defended” the Kyiv region after 2022 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

He added, “He does not want to be imprisoned. I understand,” Ivanov commented on Reut’s statement. But he insisted that his own client “did not kill.”

The prosecutor says the two men acted “jointly and in a coordinated fashion” and both have been charged with premeditated murder. For now, there are many more questions than answers in this case, which is an uncomfortable one for the authorities in Kyiv.

In court, Zhykovych’s lawyer suggested there might be a “Russian trail,” as Ukrainian intelligence agents have been recruited by Moscow in the past. “We’ve had a lot of such rats, unfortunately,” he said. But he has no evidence of that, and other theories from corruption to organized crime have also been mooted.

“All versions are being considered,” prosecutor Dmytro Tkachuk told the BBC. He added that one suspect had “revealed” some information about a possible motive but said it would hinder the investigation to make that public at this time. “We are checking the information,” he said.

Both men were denied bail by the judge and remanded in custody while the investigation continues. President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would have “additional relevant reports” to share in the coming days.