Anastasiia Berezovska, the woman suspected of planting a parcel bomb that injured a sanctioned Ukrainian businessman in Monaco last month, has been found dead near Kyiv. Ukraine's Security Service announced the discovery on July 6 — her body bore gunshot wounds to the head. She was 39 BBC.

Two men have been detained on suspicion of killing her. One of them is a serving officer in Ukraine's Ministry of Defence BBC. The Security Service has not yet explained what motivated the killing or how the suspects found Berezovska after weeks of international search.

Her death brings an end — at least temporarily — to an active manhunt spanning two continents. Berezovska had been the principal suspect in the June 29 bombing at an apartment building entrance in Monaco, an attack that wounded a Ukrainian tycoon with reported ties to Russia, along with members of his family AP. Monegasque authorities and Interpol had been searching for her since shortly after the blast.

Investigators say Berezovska left the scene on foot immediately after placing the device BBC. She later made her way to Germany, where she was believed to be hiding Reuters. Interpol issued a Red Notice — an international alert — for her arrest on attempted murder charges, noting she spoke German Reuters. How and when she returned to Ukraine remains unclear, as does whether she returned by choice.

Before the Monaco bombing, Ukrainian authorities had already flagged Berezovska. Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office published a summons for "Berezovska O.I." in May — matching her patronymic initials — seeking permission to open a pre-trial investigation GPU. That summons came roughly six weeks before the parcel bomb went off, raising a question: had Ukrainian officials already identified her in connection with something else before the Monaco attack occurred? Neither the BBC nor other outlets have found a confirmed link between the May summons and the June bombing, and Ukraine's Security Service has not publicly clarified the connection.

The identity of the Monaco bombing target has not been officially confirmed by name, though reporting consistently describes him as a sanctioned Ukrainian businessman with reported ties to Russia AP. What relationship — personal, financial, or otherwise — existed between Berezovska and the target has not been disclosed.

Among these unanswered questions, one detail stands out: a current Ministry of Defence officer is among those detained for Berezovska's murder. This raises an immediate puzzle. Was the killing connected to state institutions, to people with government access acting on their own, or to something unrelated to the bombing altogether? The Security Service's public statement does not characterize the murder as retaliation or silencing, and any such interpretation remains speculation without more information.

Since 2022, Ukraine has experienced a parallel shadow war running alongside the front lines — assassinations, bombings, and intimidation involving various actors. Cases involving sanctioned Ukrainian businessmen with Russia-linked wealth have drawn attention from Ukrainian security services, European law enforcement, and investigators tracking this broader conflict. A parcel bomb detonated in Monaco, a Western European principality known for strong security and low violent crime, is an unusual method and venue for a targeted attack. That unusual character is part of why the case attracted attention beyond what the reported injuries alone might have generated.

What comes next will turn heavily on what Ukrainian prosecutors reveal about the two men now in custody, and whether Monegasque authorities — who still hold jurisdiction over the bombing investigation — seek cooperation or extradition now that their principal suspect is deceased. A dead suspect closes one path toward accountability but opens others. Investigators can no longer question Berezovska directly, but questions about motive, funding, and any wider network behind the attack must now be pursued through the murder investigation itself.

For Monaco, an attempted murder case now sits without a living defendant. For Kyiv, a murder case now involves one of its own defence personnel — a politically sensitive detail at a moment when internal scrutiny of the defence ministry already carries weight. Both investigations are proceeding in parallel, and neither is likely to move quickly toward closure.